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Extreme Measures (1996)
First off, I find it quite refreshing that Tony Gilroy, writer of Extreme Measures, decided to put some questions of moral and ethics into a film of this kind, especially since the thriller genre circa-1996 wasn't much more than disposable entertainment.
However, all credit earned by the idea is instantly stripped away by the execution, which includes heavy-handed speeches and the like. It just doesn't work with the genre and seems to be thrown into the mix in the last 30 minutes to try and give the film a point.
It already had a point, which was to entertain, and it does an admirable enough job of that. Sure, it's a suspense thriller without suspense or thrills, but Michael Apted tries to class it up with some nice shots and Hugh Grant actually turns in a decent dramatic performance that pulls the film along. The pacing is a little off, almost completely coming to a stop in the climax, but for the most part, Extreme Measures is forgettable fun.
But then there's that need to shove a message in there. It's a lazy attempt and leaves me a little more sour than I should be. But it doesn't really matter all that much. I'll get on with my life when I almost completely forget about this movie in the next five minutes.
First off, I find it quite refreshing that Tony Gilroy, writer of Extreme Measures, decided to put some questions of moral and ethics into a film of this kind, especially since the thriller genre circa-1996 wasn't much more than disposable entertainment.
However, all credit earned by the idea is instantly stripped away by the execution, which includes heavy-handed speeches and the like. It just doesn't work with the genre and seems to be thrown into the mix in the last 30 minutes to try and give the film a point.
It already had a point, which was to entertain, and it does an admirable enough job of that. Sure, it's a suspense thriller without suspense or thrills, but Michael Apted tries to class it up with some nice shots and Hugh Grant actually turns in a decent dramatic performance that pulls the film along. The pacing is a little off, almost completely coming to a stop in the climax, but for the most part, Extreme Measures is forgettable fun.
But then there's that need to shove a message in there. It's a lazy attempt and leaves me a little more sour than I should be. But it doesn't really matter all that much. I'll get on with my life when I almost completely forget about this movie in the next five minutes.