“Don’t hope for a miracle. Make one.”

Extraordinary Measures
I love Harrison Ford. But let’s be honest, the last time I saw him act, I mean really act, was in K-19: The Widowmaker eight years ago. That’s a long time to go without Jack Ryan or Indiana Jones. What? There’s been another Indiana Jones film recently? I don’t recall anything about it.

I was quite surprised by Extraordinary Measures. It’s by no mean an Oscar winner and it does have a bit of a made-for-tv feel to it, but if you’re looking for a solid, emotional story with very good characters, then you won’t be disappointed. Harrison Ford really shines as some sort of grumpy, reclusive, medical genius. As much as he has sometimes phoned in his characters in the recent past, he really seems to enjoy this role and it was a pleasure to watch. Even Brendan Fraser, who I haven’t really seen since Blast From the Past, was quite good as the desperate father willing to do anything to keep his kids alive.

When you’re dealing with kids and diseases, you have every opportunity to get over-the-top sappy and emotional, to the point where it is not effective at all. I really thought that was going to happen with this film but I was wrong. I got close a few times but seemed to know just when to pull back and let the story resume. Extraordinary Measures is not a perfect movie, not even a great movie. But it pulled me in and effected me much more than I expected, and I really enjoyed it.

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