FIND MOVIES
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies

Review: Extraordinary Measures

The business of who lives and who dies
By TOM MEEK  |  January 27, 2010
2.5 2.5 Stars

Most parents would go to great lengths to save a child in peril, but would they find a cure for a terminal disease? If that sounds implausible, or like Hollywood schmaltz, you should note that Tom Vaughan's against-all-odds heartstring puller stems from the real-life story chronicled in The Cure by former Boston Globe reporter Geeta Anand.

The man racing the clock, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser), has two children afflicted with crippling, fatal Pompe disease. He struggles to pay 40K a month in medical bills but never gives up hope — which ultimately arrives in the form of a cantankerous scientist with a yen for classic rock (Harrison Ford).

Together they start their own pharmaceutical company, get bought out (by Genzyme of Cambridge in the real tale), and wind up battling corporate bureaucracy. Vaughan's effort isn't quite as composed as it should be, but the emotional current and tart commentary on the business of who lives and who dies is stirring.

  Topics: Reviews , Entertainment, Culture and Lifestyle, Movies,  More more >
| More


Most Popular
ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: FUN SIZE  |  October 31, 2012
    Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice ventures onto the big screen in this hokey Halloween misadventure.
  •   REVIEW: TAI CHI ZERO  |  October 24, 2012
    Mashup, hodgepodge, or remix — call it what you will, this kung fu odyssey from former action star Stephen Fung offers intermittent pleasures and freaky twists.
  •   REVIEW: ESCAPE FIRE: THE FIGHT TO RESCUE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE  |  October 02, 2012
    Matthew Heineman and Susan Frömke's documentary tackles a familiar topic but doesn't weigh in on the Obamacare issue so contentious in the upcoming election.
  •   REVIEW: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS  |  August 07, 2012
    Maybe the Kid is going through a rough adolescent patch — but he was no great shakes to begin with.
  •   MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED  |  June 07, 2012
    The franchise that began as a tame kiddie pleaser about four pampered zoo animals lost in the wild has matured and sharpened its teeth, perhaps thanks to Noah Baumbach ( The Squid and the Whale ) collaborating on the script.

 See all articles by: TOM MEEK