Desperate Measures is a 1998 action thriller film starring Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Marcia Gay Harden and Brian Cox, directed by Barbet Schroeder.
Plot
San Francisco police officer Frank Conner is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son, Matt. In desperation, he breaks into FBI headquarters and finds a perfect match. Unfortunately, it is Peter McCabe, a violent, incarcerated sociopath.
At first McCabe shows little interest. But he changes his mind after devising a plot to escape. Conner, along with police captain Cassidy and Matt's doctor, prepare for McCabe to be transferred to the hospital for the transplant.
McCabe is given a sedative. He had earlier obtained a counteracting drug from an inmate with connections and swallowed it. He also dislocated his thumbs. McCabe slips out of his hand restraints, attacks the guards and attempts to escape.
Conner and a fellow officer corner him, but McCabe holds a scalpel to Dr. Hawkins' throat. Conner drops his gun. The other officer gets the drop on him, but Dr. Hawkins warns the police that if McCabe dies, his bone marrow becomes useless. Conner stands in the way of the other officer, who is then shot by McCabe with Conner's gun.
After hearing what happened, Capt. Cassidy immediately orders Conner off the case and removed from the scene. Conner breaks free to search the hospital for McCabe on his own.
McCabe manages to cause an explosion with propane tanks and runs off. He seizes control of the hospital's adjacent wing, holding guards hostage and ordering a lockdown of the building.
Conner and Dr. Hawkins make their way to him and convince McCabe to let them inside so the doctor can attend to Matt. McCabe can see on the security cameras how much Conner loves his son and how desperate he is to do anything to save him. (McCabe had an abusive father himself.)
Conner intervenes when McCabe is about to ambush Cassidy and his SWAT team. Cassidy is furious that Conner continues to aid an escaped convict and asks, "How many people have to die tonight so that son of yours can live?" McCabe is also angry at Conner's having foiled his plan. He kidnaps the sick child and descends to the sublevels of the building.
McCabe shows a gentler side to the boy, respecting him more after Matt tries to wound him to give his father a better chance. He leaves the boy at the hospital. Through a sewer passage, McCabe then escapes into San Francisco, where he steals a car.
Conner chases him to a bridge. He still needs McCabe captured, but not killed. Cassidy and his men arrive in a helicopter and a sniper opens fire. Conner again shields McCabe and is wounded in the shoulder. McCabe attempts to flee but Conner is determined not to let him go. Conner wounds him, sending McCabe off the bridge and into the bay. Conner then dives in to save him from drowning.
Back in the hospital, a wounded McCabe agrees to the transplant. It is a success and Matt is safe. Even though his career with the police is clearly over, Conner is relieved.
McCabe is informed by a guard that the surgery went well. The guard suddenly realizes that his gun is gone. McCabe looks at him and asks, "What kind of car do you have?"
Cast
Reception
The film was panned by most critics. As of May 27, 2008 the film had received a 19 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [1]
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "By the time Desperate Measures degenerates into an old-fashioned car chase, you may wish you were watching General Hospital. Although I suspect there is plenty of bone-marrow- and leukemia-related preposterousness here, my limited medical education precludes me from informed eyeball rolling. I may not be a doctor, but I know a movie with iron-poor blood when I see one." [2] Online film critic James Berardinelli, stated "when you consider how many contrivances the characters have to endure to reach the ending, you may think that the title has more to do with the film makers' approach than with anything that happens on screen." [3]
Awards
ALMA Awards (1999)
- Won, "Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role" - Andy Garcia
a Bollywood film named Jung starring Sanjay Dutt,Jackie shroff and Aditya Pancholi was a remake of this film.the film is famous for one of its song `aaela re ladki mast mast tu aaela re`
References
External links
