Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Myriam Nys The subject of the movie is important, although it would have been nice if the message had been delivered with more subtlety. As it is, the viewer gets hit over the head, repeatedly, with the message that HURTING INNOCENT PEOPLE IS WRONG, which won't be news to the millions of people who go around their daily lives without hurting innocent people.The plot and screenplay are both okay. The best scenes are those illustrating the hellish difficulty of working as a (young) doctor or nurse in a large and modern city, especially in an emergency ward.Hugh Grant proves that he does, indeed, have acting talent, although many viewers will laugh their heads off when viewing countless scenes in which Grant cries, despairs, flees, schemes, thinks, runs, crawls, etc etc without messing up his boyishly rakish haircut. Mrs. Parker on the other hand might be replaced by, say, a cactus, a vase of flowers, a dictionary or a bottle of soda.

vincentlynch-moonoi I'm not sure why this film only gets around a "6" rating. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am giving it a "7".First of all, it has a mostly excellent cast. Hugh Grant is excellent as the young doctor who gets caught up in a conspiracy to use homeless people for experimental unneeded surgery. At first I was bothered by how very young Grant looked; it didn't seem a doctor so young could be advancing so quickly in the field of medicine. However, when you actually look at his real age when the movie was made, it did work.Gene Hackman -- an actor I never really wanted to like -- is as good as he almost always was, this time playing the disturbingly reassuring evil doctor.The one real let down here is Sarah Jessica Parker as a physician who is helping Hackman (due to her brother's spinal injury). I simply do not see the attraction to this ridiculously passive actress.David Morse turns in a strong performance as an FBI Agent also aligned with Hackman, as does Bill Nunn as a similarly aligned police detective.As to the story itself, which takes place in New York City (and uses locations scenes to the film's advantage), it's sorta scary when you think about how medical researchers could misuse their public trust if they get too wrapped up in the cures on which they are working. In this case, it's spinal injuries. The suspense is very real -- and StephenKing-ish -- when Grant descends into the bowels of New York City to find the people who live underground. And then there's a dramatic twist when our good guy becomes paralyzed himself...or does he...and if he is paralyzed, how can be the hero at the film's conclusion? Nope, I disagree with the general consensus. I think this is a very good suspense film and quite believable...at least as much as almost any film.

Geoffrey DeLeons This is one of the better medical-oriented thrillers, or even medical-oriented movies in general, and I was prepared to issue it eight stars up until the final scene where Dr. Luthan is walking down the steps of N.S.U. with none other than the person who, very suspiciously, dogged and thwarted him through the movie, his supervisor, Dr. Manko. I was appalled when I saw that, and consider it a script error.Now they are buddies and all is forgiven? Manko was not a part of the conspiracy? Then why were we led to believe, repeatedly, that he was?If that is not enough, what happened next was enough to force me to detract one star and weep for what could have been movie that makes an important and powerful statement for human rights, and humanity in general: When Ruth Myrick offers Dr. Luthan Dr. Myrick's notes (sic), the movie sends a message and projects the erroneous, cynical assumption that in society today, there is widespread approval, by intelligent, cultured, principled people, of the savagery inflicted by her husband.When Dr. Luthan, after all of his diligence and vigilance, actually accepted the research material borne-of-murder-and-torture, it literally reversed and convoluted the established tenor and heart of the picture.It was abhorrent and inexcuseable.Dr. Luthan, when offered the media, had the opportunity to underline, summarize and emphasize his world-view and code-of-ethics, as a doctor of medicine, and as a human being. A great opportunity was missed.Other scriptual wrong-turns; 1.) Placing Jodie Trammel (and her brother) as part of the conspiracy. By-the-way, why wasn't she and he indicted? 2.) The vague notion of "the room". The definition seems to have morphed in the script, from a hospital room of torture to a homeless refuge far underground (with people who never come up to the surface)?Any other movie with these inconsistencies and horrible ending, I would have given 4 or 5 stars to. The promise of Extreme Measures was not fulfilled in the end, but the story is one of great social pertinence and one we should not forget nor dismiss. With "medicine's" singular focus on profit, it is highly likely that something like the scenario described in this movie could take place, performed by U.S. companies in either the U.S. or some other, more-receptive country. This could have been a great movie.

LeonLouisRicci 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.