My Rating: **** - GreatOther than "Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", Harrison Ford hasn't done very many movies lately but he picked the right one to make a comeback! Adding yet another excellent performance but it doesn't quite live up to his roles as "Indiana Jones" in, well, the "Indiana Jones" series or as "Han Solo" in the "Star Wars" series. Brendan Fraser, on the other hand, is surprising me more and more. Despite how much I wasn't a real fan of "The Mummy" series, he is a very good actor. Now, their talents have been combined for a new film going extraordinary measures. The plot is based on a true story where 2/3 of John Crowley(Brendan Fraser)'s kids have a disease called "Pompe". Pompe is a bone deteriorating disease that has confined both of his children to wheel chairs and a lot of medication. The life expectancy of patients with this disease is at most about 9 years. His kids with the disease are 6 and 8. Him and his wife are tired of hearing that they "simply don't have a treatment for Pompe". So, he has been doing research on this disease and he finds an article by a scientist named Dr. Robert Stonehill(Harrison Ford). He has a theory for a life-saving drug for Pompe patients and is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough. The only problem is that he has no funding. John is for one, a very successful businessman and is willing to go, again, "Extraordinary Measures" to save his kid's lives. So, the two begin working together and start a company that works on Stonehill's medicine and with one man controlling the science of the project and one man controlling the business and legal entities, they must exceed all expectations and race against all odds and the clock to ensure a good outcome on the lives of John's children and all other Pompe victims. The story is one that is just as inspiring and uplifting as "The Blind Side". The script was very well written but the story seems just to good to be true. It's a little bit of a turnoff but then again, you have to remind yourself that the story IS true. And it's a true, hope-filled, extraordinary tale that brings the drama genre to another level. All actors contribute fully believable performances to the film driving it further and further to the point where it deserves to be called a great film. But, was there depth to the wording of the script and the emotion of the performances that was missed but easily could've been there? Yes. I did get the feeling there was some missed emotional and moral quality in the writing that, if it was there, which it could've easily been, I think it would've driven it to a 4 1/2 to 5 star movie. But it was missing that little last yet very strong emotional connection you need to a movie. Examples would be like "The Dark Knight", "Avatar", all three "Spider-Man" movies, "Iron Man" 1 & 2, "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Blind Side"(I know I mention most of these movies a lot in my reviews), and so many others that do the missing link to this film right. But, the film still does a great job of getting up after it's knocked down and fights till the end to deliver on the promise of the previews. You do still feel a connection and will be amazed by the beauty and inspiration of a wonderful movie. In spite of all the films that are much darker but at the same time get you thinking about the darkness of reality, this one manages to show us the light and hope in it. And gives us the lesson to hold on to that hope even when against all darkness. It's inspiring because it's a true story where they did exactly that. Just like the movie's tag line, they didn't hope for a miracle, they made one.
Starring: Brendan Fraser Director: Tom Vaughan
Harrison Ford
Keri Russell
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