Medidas Extremas

Great thriller...which is its proper genre. one of hugh grants best movies if not his best. director michael apted is not known for being a great director and it is an uncommon role for hugh grant. don't miss out on this movie if thrillers are your type of movies...especially good ones. really good pacing, rarely ever a dull moment even though the movie is almost 2 hours long and just like any really good thriller...it has its nail-biting moments. dont miss out on this movie if you get the chance to watch it. hugh grant is really really good in this and gene hackman is his usually solid self. great supporting cast...many faces you will recognize and even tho parts of it was shot in canada, alot of it was also shot in nyc.

Very exciting film with lots of surprises. Not really all that original, I have run across the story of the mad doctor wanting to play God before. Still it was well done, and the ending left me wondering..... Hugh Grant and Gene Hackman were, as usual, flawless in their performances, as was the entire cast.

With an Above Average Script from Tony Gilroy and a Surprisingly Effective Against Type Performance from Hugh Grant, this is an Intense Thriller with Ethical Questions and Moral Dilemmas that have No Easy Answers.

It's those Difficult Questions the Movie Asks that makes this the kind of Movie that isn't made often. The Thriller Format is much more Popular and Easily Digested when this Type of Thinking is Not Required. Taxing the Brain is Not Formulaic for the Popcorn Crowd and it doesn't Sell Tickets.

This one is Noble in its Efforts and some Suspension of Disbelief is Required. There are a Few Scenes, most Notably when Grant's Doctor Submerges to the Bowels of the City, that Strain for Realism and one of the Few Times when the Film seems a bit too Hollywood.

But Most of the Movie Plays out some Twists and Turns that are Surprising and the quick Pacing Helps the Film Deal with the Malpractice Elements and the "God Complex" more Easily.

Overall, it is a Thinking Man's Thriller with Good Performances and Good Writing and is only Brought Down a Bit by the Contrived Situations Necessary to make it all Fit into a Two Hour Running Time.

Entertaining, but a lot like "coma" with Michael Douglas. Nothing really original in the movie, apart from the fact that the main person doesn't happen to get into a relationship during the movie and all that sort of sideline nonesense. Funny to see Hugh Grant just cannot help playing an insecure character even if he is playing someone who succeeds in at a very difficult task by being very determined. Moral issues, goodies & baddies with a little nuance, violent climax, happy end.

While it hardly offers any twists that we haven't seen before, "Extreme Measures" is a well-made, well-acted thriller that has an unusual air of believability. The most effective set piece, which doesn't have all that much to do with the main plot, is the hero's descent into the underground lairs beneath the Grand Central Station. Hugh Grant is very convincing and unaffected in one of his most serious roles, and the ending is not as cut-and-dried as you might expect it to be. But the most memorable moment, for me at least, occurs early on, when a very ill and frightened man, barely able to speak, looks straight into Grant's eyes, pleading for help. (**1/2)