Extreme Measures

This movie is very relevant in this day and age with the on slot of diseases and people who are searching for the answers. Hugh Grant playing the moral side of this left and right medical thriller. The big question brought up in this film is that of medical morals that have been brought up in many movies and in the thoughts of many people, " Would you kill many people to save lives in the name of medicine?" Hugh Grant is amazing as the hero Doctor Guy Luthan. His character works feverishly to find the truth of," What is going on with this mysterious men that come into his life, why his life is being destroyed and what is "Triphase"?" This is a good movie of Hugh Grant's and shows how he works well as a serious actress which I think he should go back to. Go rent this movie or check HBO for the next time it appears.

An unfortunate choice for your entertainment. Full of artificial dilemmas, cliches and obligatory scenes. The moral speech at the end is fairly childish. I was annoyed by the pointless abundance of kinetically challenged persons. Hugh Grant cannot fit in action scenes. Only for Hugh (female) admirers.

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.

I found this to be an underrated movie, particularly by some movie critics. The premise (medical thriller) is different than those normally found routinely in the movies. Beyond that, it has an above average cast, with Gene Hackman leading the way. His acting alone raises the quality of the movie although I found Hugh Grant's character to be fairly pedestrian and uninspiring. While I think he (Hugh Grant) is a good actor, I think he is miscast and that a different actor might have been more convincing in this particular role. I always enjoy Sarah Jessica Parker's movies and found her to be quite good in a role much different than those in which she normally performs. The direction is well done with some unusual locales and very tense, exciting scenes along the way. Despite the fact that you can tell early on where the movie is headed, it still works as both a thriller and a medical drama and is worth watching just to see how it unfolds. You'll find some very thought provoking ethical questions along the way as well. This is a unique thriller, a movie well worth seeing in my opinion.

1st watched 7/11/1998 - (Dir-Michel Apted): Excellent thinking thriller revolved around the medical field. Well done and well played throughout despite not having very high hopes in Hugh Grant being able to hold his own with Hackman, but he does very well.

I just saw this for the second time, on telly, and was struck again by how good it is; not great, maybe, but a very solidly written and acted film on an intriguing premiss and leaving the viewer a bit of room to make up their own mind (this is a GOOD THING, in case anyone is wondering). Hugh Grant shows again that he can do more than play variations on this 4 Weddings character - anyone who has seen An Awfully Big Adventure will be well aware of this. And Gene Hackman is as excellent as ever. A word for Elizabeth Hurley, who produced the film, and I think it was her first: a damn good job she did, despite some unsavoury sniping in the British press about her. I'd give it an 8 out of 10

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)

Hugh Grant stars a ER doctor that happens upon a patient with complex medical issues (and dies). His tests reveal something quite unusual. Gene Hackman plays a well-respected medical researcher that has a secret research lab using the homeless to find cures to diseases. Thought provoking to say the least. Grant's character is ruined after he starts digging into the mystery of this dead patient's maladies, medical mysteries. He just doesn't know what sinister medical research he stumbled upon and who is involved. Sarah Jessica Parker was okay in the film but Grant made it work. Liz Hurley was actually a Producer of the film. Hackman played his character okay but not excellent as usual. It is a taught medical thriller than will make you think if medical research like the Nazi's is really going on in real life. The movie was ahead of its time. Micheal Apted directed it well. Lots of great supporting actors.