Friday, January 21, 2011

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 264 - Extraordinary Measures


Extraordinary Measures from 2010 features a big name cast and high production values but never escapes the boundaries of a well made movie for HBO or Lifetime.

Inspired by a true story, the film stars Brendan Fraser as a father with two children dying from Pompe disease, a rare medical disorder, that is similar to muscular dystrophy. In a desperate bid to save his children he teams up with a scientist, played by Harrison Ford, who has a theory on how to treat the disease, but has no money to test his ideas. Together the two plunge into the world of bio-tech, venture capitalism and orphan drugs in a race against the clock.

The movie succeeds in pulling some emotional heart strings and gives and interesting look into the world of drug development, but never really capitalizes on it's star power. Ford is straight jacketed in the role of curmudgeon, absent minded scientist that gets tiresome very quickly.

Uplifting story? Yes. Compelling drama? No.


At The Movie House rating ** stars

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