Desperate Measures
Tags: revenge

Plot synopsis:
San Francisco police officer Frank Conner is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his son, Matt, who has leukemia. In desperation, he breaks into FBI headquarters and finds a perfect match. Unfortunately, it is Peter McCabe, a sociopath who is serving life in prison for several murders. During his time in prison, the brutal, cunning McCabe has attempted escape and killed several guards and fellow prisoners, and must be kept in multiple restraints when out of his isolation cell.
At first McCabe shows little interest in helping Conner, but later finds an opportunity to turn the situation to his advantage and devises a plot to escape. Biding his time, McCabe plays chess against a computer, easily defeating the program, and expresses the need for a challenge akin to Garry Kasparov or Deep Blue. Meanwhile, Conner, along with police captain Cassidy and Matt's doctor, Dr. Hawkins, prepare for McCabe to be transferred to the hospital for the transplant.
At the hospital, McCabe is given a sedative. With the aid of a counteracting drug he had obtained from a fellow inmate, McCabe slips out of his restraints, attacks the guards and attempts to escape.
Conner and a fellow officer corner him, but McCabe holds a scalpel to Hawkins' throat. Conner drops his gun. The other officer gets the drop on him, but Hawkins warns the police that if McCabe dies, his bone marrow becomes useless. Conner stands in the way of the other officer; McCabe takes his gun and shoots the officer.
After hearing what happened, 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 causes 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 Hawkins make their way to him and convince McCabe to let them inside so the doctor can attend to Matt. As McCabe watches Conner on the security cameras, he realizes that his nemesis is a truly devoted father, and develops a grudging respect for him. (McCabe had earlier related that his own father had abused him.)
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 for having foiled his plan, and so kidnaps Matt and descends to the sublevels of the building.
Matt tries to wound McCabe to give his father a better chance; impressed, McCabe spares Matt and leaves him at the hospital for Conner to find. McCabe then escapes into San Francisco, where he steals a car.
Conner chases McCabe to a bridge, still needing him captured alive. Cassidy and his men arrive in a helicopter and a sniper opens fire. Conner again shields McCabe and is wounded in the arm. McCabe attempts to flee, but Conner is determined not to let him go. Conner wounds McCabe, sending him off the bridge and into the bay. Conner then dives in and saves him.
Back in the hospital, a wounded McCabe agrees to the transplant, which saves Matt's life. Even though his career is clearly over, Conner is overjoyed that his son will live.
McCabe is informed by a guard that the surgery went well. As the bed reclines upwards and McCabe looks at the guard menacingly, the guard suddenly realizes that his gun is gone. McCabe holds it over the guard and asks, "What kind of car do you have?".

Review: I'm sure there are a number of holes in this far-fetched tale but it's fun to watch nevertheless.Michael Keaton is almost mesmerizing in his role as the sick killer.
Michael Keaton and Andy Garcia are perfectly matched in this generally absorbing action thriller; you can sense right away that they had great chemistry working together, and they manage to create two characters more three-dimensional than the ones typically found in the genre.
The film does have some plot holes (okay, Garcia can't kill Keaton.
Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton star in the classic policeman vs bad guy story, but with a twist.
Garcia is Frank Conner, a cop with a son named Matt who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant.
Keaton is Pete McCabe, a hardened prisoner who seems to be the only person in the world who matches little Matt's bone marrow type.
Normally, I would expect Garcia to be the bad guy and Keaton to be the cop, but Keaton honestly works out better as the bad guy.The worst part of the movie has to be the kid, Matt, played by Joseph Cross.
Although following the formula for films in its class, including a saved dying child, a brave female doctor, a psychopath, and a dedicated detective trying to save his son, even the mandatory car chase sequence, I still found "Desperate Measure" an exciting and enjoyable thriller.
Enter Michael Keaton as McCabe, a mad psychopathic criminal genius (aren't they all?) whose bone marrow is a perfect match.
It relates the story of Frank Connor, (Andy Garcia) a police detective who's son is desperately ill and needs a bone marrow transplant.
However, when the perfect donor is located, it turns out he's in a maximum security prison and belongs to one, Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton).
From the moment the prisoner is removed from his incarceration, the audience is given an explosive, action-oriented and dramatic film which makes for a great escape.
There is no other action movie like "Desperate Measures", because Andy Garcia protects the bag guy from the cops.
I don't expect much from Garcia since he is one of the most overrated actors today but Keaton really should have known this movie would suck and gotten out while he could (not that I'm especially fond of him but hey, he did batman).In one scene Keaton is transported to a hospital chained down and wearing a Hannibal Lecter kind of face mask when two attack dogs bark at him (dogs can sense evil you know (puke)) and Keaton growls back at them making them back off and whine with their tails between their legs.
Garcia makes a fool out of himself in an interrogation scene with dialogue only a complete retard could find plausible and the kid is too annoying to feel sorry for..If you are gonna make a movie with as poor a plot as this you need some charm, humour, some solid action.
Granted, it's not an Oscar-caliber film, but it's a lot better than the garbage out there now.Andy Garcia plays Frank Conner, a police detective or something of higher rank who happens to be a widower and who's only son, played by Joseph Cross (in a good performance) is dying of a rare type of leukemia and can only be saved by a certain kind of bone-marrow transplant.
It turns out that the only match in the whole world is Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton), a ruthless, intelliegent, psychopathic killer who is in prison for multiple murders.
That day, McCabe successfully escapes the operation room, and the rest of the movie is spent with Conner trying to capture the crazed McCabe without killing him, because he wants that bone-marrow for his son.Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton deliver good performances.
Garcia is convincing as a San Francisco cop who's forced to choose between doing his job and being a good father when he discovers that his ill son can be saved with a bone marrow transplant.
Not only are there holes and flaws in the story, the movie bounces erratically from one unbelievable scene to the next without believability or purpose.I think Andy Garcia is a good actor, however, in this movie he seems a little tentative as a police officer and lacks the edge that makes us believe were watching a real cop in a tough situation.
The police look silly, contrived and phony and the villain (Keaton - who is a great actor and can play a great bad guy) is way too campy.By the way, the reason it didn't do well at the box office, it's the worst police movie of all time..
In sitting through this film, I honestly felt that I was watching "Airplane"!Take for example one of the crucial "dramatic" moments in which the zealous police detective (Andy Garcia) and the pediatrician (Marcia Gay Harden) are crossing over the skyway from one building to another.
At that moment, Andy's character needs to get the doctor to his sick son who desperately needs a bone marrow transfusion that is to be provided by a killer on the loose (Michael Keaton).
The film is filled with moments just like this one in which an intended serious scene turns to comedy.Take also the casting of Michael Keaton (primarily a comic actor) in the role of the psychopathic killer.
The plot is absolutely implausible, the acting is mediocre, although Keaton does his usual good job as a mental case, although being typecast in that role could certainly be considered a negative.
Bad plot, acting was substandard and even wasted (even though, yes, Michael Keaton has been in some of the worst movies I have ever seen), and this movie has no redeeming value to anybody with more than half a brain.
Basically, this is the deal--Two cops have to die and a third has to get horrible burns on his face for Garcia's son to get a bone marrow transplant from convicted killer Keaton.
A cop (Andy Garcia) has a son who is dying and needs bone marrow replacement in order to live.
To save his son he has to track down the killer.Michael Keaton plays the convict in one of many disappointing aspects of the film.
Imagine a script writer sitting at his desk:"Hmmm...I want to do this action packed movie about a cop who chases an extremely dangerous psychopath criminal with an IQ of 250 who can hack any computer and still kill people with his pinky finger...
Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton star in a dark action thriller.
The story is predictable and fairly basic, appealing only to action freaks.I was surprised to see Michael Keaton as the bad guy in this film, but he does well and deserves the most credit for this adequate thriller.
in fact,it's downright ludicrous at times.and the acting isn't very good.the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired,too.though i'll admit,the movie is somewhat suspenseful at times.but when you have one stupid predictable plot twist after another every few minutes,it just becomes tiresome.there really isn't much point to this movie.it's also too long by at least 30 minutes,so that doesn't help.Michael Keaton plays a good villain,but i think the filmmakers were trying to make him into something akin to Hannibal Lector,from Silence of the Lambs.well,they feel short by a country mile.it's a shame the movie wasn't better,since there were some good actors involved.oh,well.for me,Desperate Measures is a 4/10.
This time around, it's simple: a cop's dying child needs a bone marrow transplant and the only matching donor is a jailed killer.What follows is a movie that starts out on a fairly tense level before gradually become more and more preposterous as it goes on.
Said cop Andy Garcia must do everything in his power to stop him.Much of the film involves a tense stand-off inside a hospital and it's during this section that it starts to get silly.
Garcia does things like assisting a criminal to escape and driving his stolen motorbike through glass doors yet at no time do any of the detectives or police force attempt to apprehend him, preferring to let him get on with it.The plot gradually breaks down and in the end becomes one long chase sequence, filled with all of the over-the-top stunts you'd expect from a '90s-era action movie.
I think it it has a good story in it and it all goes very fast and good but still very nice MichaelKeaton plays brilliant never knew he is such a good actor he must always play the bad guy because he is very good in this role excellent some critics say he is too much Hannibal Lector in this movie but i think he is somewhat like him but not at all there are difference like how intelligent he is when he is on the run for example anyway i think people much watch this film when they haven't seen it i advise to watch it u wont regret.
My expectations of it weren't too high, because at the time I did not think that Andy Garcia was that much of an actor.However, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was as entertaining as it turned out.
That made the show a bit far-fetched for me, giving the 'humanitarian sacrifice' of the criminal the benefit of the doubt.Other than that, the action sequences, and pacing of the movie was very tight with very few slow parts - even for the emotional scenes featuring Andy Garcia's character and his terminally-ill son.
Andy Garcia always makes a good villain or a hero, I prefer him as a hero, and he makes a great one in this movie.
But he's also the villain you root for, based entirely on his charisma and likability (kind of like Hannibal Lechter).McCabe plays a life-and-death game with Frank Connor (played by Andy Garcia), a San Francisco police officer forced to go to `desperate measures' to find a compliant bone marrow donor for his dying son.
Very Entertaining, Michael Keaton puts in his greatest performance (AS PETER McCABE - PSYCHOPATHIC KILLER {IN THIS MOVIE KNOWN AS DESPERATE MEASURES}) since BATMAN!.
Michael Keaton was brilliant, and so was Andy Garcia who pursued and tried to protect him at the same time.
It is about a cop (Andy Garcia) whose child is dying of leukemia, and he tries to find a compatible bone-marrow donor for his son.
The only possible donor is multiple mass-murderer Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton), who thinks of the trip to the hospital as a chance to break free.
This film combines two great actors, but it is not Michael Keaton's regular role, a serial killer.
Many reviewers have mentioned "cat and mouse games." I think what they mean is that everybody seems to be pursuing everybody else and nobody ever stops to take a breath, including the viewer.Garcia's nine-year-old boy has leukemia and his life can be saved only by a bone marrow transplant from a compatible donor.
The kid, Garcia's son, is kidnapped by escaped killer Michael Keaton.
This film has a great premise: Cop's kid needs a bone marrow transplant, the only possible match is that of a serial killer Peter MCcabe (Keaton).
The car chase lead up, to a finale between Garcia and Keaton adds to the coolness of the movie, upholding the fun and excitement, which has been with us since Act 2.
From the opening scene, the movie throws us right into Garcia's peril, where early in the film where father and sick son speak, I drew a few tears.
Michael Keaton as the bad guy is fun, but the movies has some ridiculous plot twists & in general is just awful.
Personally, I like Michael Keaton, but his performance in "Desperate Measures" was embarrasing - and he was still better by far than any of the other actors in the movie.
For reasons that are never explained, a sociopath killer (Michael Keaton) is the only available bone marrow donor for the cancer-stricken son of a San Francisco cop (Andy Garcia), who must capture the killer alive after a laughable escape in a labyrinthine hospital.
Five minutes into Desperate Measures, I was convinced it was the latter; a day after watching it, I'm still not convinced it's the former, but I'm farther along the road than I was at that point.Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton) is a highly intelligent psychopath, a less likable Hannibal Lecter, whose bone marrow happens to be a match for the dying son of Frank Conner (Andy Garcia).
Needless to say, that doesn't work, or it would be a very, very short film.Much of the movie's appeal rests solely on the head of Andy Garcia, one of the best actors in Hollywood right now, and one of the most underrated as well.
Andy Garcia is a superb performer in everything he does and I really enjoyed Michael Keaton's role here.I think this was pieced together really well and now that I have my 10 lines...well i can hit submit.Not much of a comment, but still among my favourite movies..
Michael Keaton (Peter McCabe) is very possibly my least favorite actor EVER, but I have to admit his acting abilities were really great on this movie.
alot of you seem to have taken this movie way to seriously....don't look at it as the thriller it should have been..but as the comedy it is or even watch it in the sense of a mindless action movie...keaton was funny as hell (maybe not intentionally) but funny none the less....garcia seemed oddly out of place but this added to the hilarity....so if you like shoot em ups with funny one liners....watch desperate measures....you'll still be laughing the next day.
I checked out this movie thinking that I would come out of it thinking that Micheal Keaton had delivered yet another great action flick.
San Francisco police officer Frank Connor (Andy García) is desperate to find a compatible bone marrow donor for his son.
Desperate Measures This thriller is a fast and intense paced movie, which is often overlooked Andy Garcia does a great job playing desperate dad, trying to save he's leukemia ridden son.
That drags the movie down a bit, the days when you could get away with the good and the bad guy constantly running into each other, were long gone even when this film was made Not to mention that Andy's character would never been able to continue on the force, not to mention he would probable been sued.
Garcia, a San Franisco Police officer, goes out of his way and breaks the law in order to save the life of his son, hence desperate measures.KEATON (Peter McCabe)is able to blackmail himself back into the general public in prison, studies the hospital, computer systems, dislocates his thumb to be able to uncuff himself, hides the flint of a lighter underneath his fingernails and takes an anti-drug to co-opt the gas for the marrow extraction.
Way, way, way over the top for me...........Michael Keaton's character seems almost like a Hannibal Lecter type.........he escapes, he kills, he gets away (almost).He defeats an army of cops, takes over a prison, what can he possibly do to top this??
I noticed two Star Trek references in the movie and, yet,ironically we have a lead character played by Andy Garciawho is the antithesis of the Vulcan philosophy of, "Theneeds of the many outweigh the needs of the few or one." Let's just say that while trying to save his son from cancer he puts most of the rest of San Francisco at incredible risk.
Michael Keaton and Andy Garcia must really have needed the work to do this movie.
Michael Keaton agrees to donate bone marrow to the dying son of a detective, but then escapes.
Andy Garcia is superb in this movie and is the right man to play that role.
The music fits with the action scenes, which are brilliant, and the ending makes you think 'I love it'.Bravo Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia and Barbet Schroeder..
i think this is the case with this film as 1 reviewer whined, and i quote "Garcia can't kill Keaton.
Just when you think action movies are becoming monotonous and repetitive, out comes a unique plot, with great characters.
Desperate Measures is an action thriller film that stars Michael Keaton, Andy García, Marcia Gay Harden and Brian Cox.The film was directed by Barbet Schroeder.
The big switch is that the coyote wants to catch the roadrunner because the coyote's son needs a bone marrow transplant and the roadrunner is a perfect match.Garcia's character is a police officer who very improbably arranges for Keaton to be released from prison so that the transplant can be done in a San Francisco hospital.
Desperate Measures (1998): Dir: Barbet Schroeder / Cast: Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Joseph Cross, Marcia Gay Harden, Brian Cox: A desperate attempt to make a bad movie, which is essentially what this is.
Joseph Cross plays Garcia's son who is more of a help to himself because he can sense Keaton's position.
There is nothing more grating to a movie fan than watching two good actors play two intriguing characters with heart and skill and then watch them trudged through the motions of a dimwitted action plot.
'Desperate Measures' plays one hour of good material and another hour of kinetic chases and noise.The set up in intriguing, Frank Conner (Andy Garcia) has a son that is dying and needs a bone marrow transplant.
A computer search for a donor turns up only one match – Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton) a psychotic in who is locked away in prison for multiple murders.
Michael Keaton and Andy Garcia have done good work in the past playing characters who use their brains instead of their brawn but watching their characters in action mode I kept clutching the arms of my seat..
i think that in this movie, he did better acting than andy garcia (but he was good too).