Extraordinary Measures Blu-ray delivers stunning video and great audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Fate and determination push idealistic father John Crowley (two of whose children suffer from a rare disease) into joining forces with reclusive medical researcher, Dr. Robert Stonehill. Together, this unlikely pair face impossible odds as they battle the entire medical establishment and time itself to find a cure before it’s too late.
It's about kids, kids with names, dreams, families that love them.
Those pesky heartstrings make such a tempting target. Hollywood always seems to be yanking on
them here, gently puling on them there, like a giant marionette playing millions of moviegoers
every year. Audiences, it
seems, are always ready and willing to shell out the cash, paint those heartstrings a tempting
neon color, and attach a "pull me" sign on their ends, all in the name of getting mushy over the
latest feel good story to make its way onto the big screen. Usually based on some true story
about overcoming long odds and the sacrifices made along the way, the feel-good picture
represents a genre with limitless value because there's limitless hurt in a world that needs to be
reminded every now and again that love and determination can sometimes beat the odds and
defeat nature,
money, and time. Rare occurrences yes but also the bearers of real hope and inspiration, movies
like Extraordinary Measures are built not only to tell a story or break the bank at the box
office but to show that there's still some good in a world that all too often seems overrun by doom
and gloom. Extraordinary Measures tells a story about the fight to find a cure for a
debilitating and, ultimately,
deadly disease and the struggle to overcome the odds both in the hospital room and in the board
room in an effort to get a promising drug to needy children. It's not a new story, but it's told with
enough technical skill and emotional power to make Extraordinary Measures a quality
feel-good motion picture experience.
The Crowley's on their way to see 'Extraordinary Measures.'
Everyman John Crowley (Brendan Fraser, Journey to the Center of the
Earth) and his wife Aileen (Keri Russell, August Rush) are
parents to three children, two of whom -- eight-year-old Megan (Meredith Droeger) and
six-year-old Patrick (Diego Velazquez) -- have been diagnosed with the fatal Pompe's Disease.
Megan and Patrick both have already beaten the life expectancy for a Pompe's victim, but when
Megan is
hospitalized and nearly passes away, it becomes clear that the Crowley's cannot beat the
inevitable for much longer without the help of a genuine miracle. With that, John quits his job
with Bristol-Myers
Squibb in pursuit of a dream to find a drug that will allow his children to live. He tracks down
the country's preeminent Pompe's researcher, Nebraskan Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford, Air Force One), in
hopes that the doctor can or has developed the cure that Megan and Patrick need. Unfortunately,
Stonehill proves a difficult nut to crack; he's overworked and underfunded and in need of half a
million
dollars just to get his potentially life-saving research off the ground. John's persistence and
willingness to raise the funds Stonehill needs results in an unlikely alliance in the name of cutting
through red tape and saving lives.
Extraordinary Measures certainly isn't the type of rousing cinema that will have audiences
cheering by the end, nor is it all that suspenseful. The movie is more of a"known quantity" type
of outing where anyone with even an inkling as to what it's all about will be able to figure out how
it's going to end, but the problem here is that the journey really isn't all that interesting along the
way. Sure, it's very easy to root for the sick children and become lost in the emotion;
Extraordinary Measures does very well in that area, placing the audience in the midst of
the ups and downs of the children's struggles with Pompe's, but it loses steam in its middle act
when the movie necessarily trudges through the deluge of scientific banter and the
behind-the-scenes bureaucracy and politics that unfortunately but understandably get in the way
of the
ultimate goal of getting the right drugs into the hands of needy patients. Then again, it's through
those trials that the film finds its true meaning as it demonstrates the power of perseverance in
accomplishing even the most impossible of tasks. Had Extraordinary Measures
cheated real life and foregone the mundane struggles behind the story and simply traversed from
point-A
to point-B with a minimal number of easily-defeated roadblocks, the emotional payoff would be
significantly lessened and the message on determination lost in Hollywood fantasy. The middle act
may slow the film down, but it's a necessary ingredient in bringing the story, its themes, and its
meaning to fruition.
It's almost a given that these sorts of film will in some way affect the audience; it's impossible
to see sick children and not have an emotional response, but a movie such as this simply can't
succeed without the help of
several additional elements. Extraordinary Measures does a good job of building a story
around the disease and populating the film with quality actors, both factors contributing to make
this a serviceable, sometimes potent, always timely, and subtly purposeful tearjerker. Indeed, the
film's true
purpose seems to be its ability to call attention to Pompe's disease
without playing like a telethon; audiences will likely leave the movie wanting to contribute in some
way to disease research, whether for Pompe's or another, and that may prove to be the film's
greatest asset and area of success. Additionally, Extraordinary Measures is populated with
a likable cast
that's rock-solid all around. Brendan Fraser delivers a heartfelt and honest performance as a
loving father doing all he can to help his children, while Harrison Ford's effort is his best since K-19: The
Widowmaker, this being the
first film in almost a decade where he doesn't look too old for the part. He's excellent as a scientist
with an attitude, a man who wants to make his mark on the world for the better but who has
developed something of a nasty complex over the years as a researcher who hasn't been able to
fund his
work or maneuver through the politics and policies of a world where money trumps the possibility
of improving people's lives. For as good as Fraser and Ford are, however, Meredith Droeger is the
real star of the show. Hers is a remarkably genuine and lovable effort as an eight-year-old girl
with Pompe's; she shines in her role, delivering a sparkling, memorable performance that in and of
itself should inspire young children suffering through potentially terminal diseases that there's
hope and the chance for a good life through a positive outlook and the warmth of a loving family.
No longer extraordinary but instead routine is the fact that Sony continues to churn out
top-notch
video transfers for their Blu-ray releases, and Extraordinary Measures's 1080p,
1.85:1-framed image is another that delivers a nearly faultless Blu-ray experience. The transfer
features a thin and pleasing veneer of grain that lends to the film that sought-after cinematic
texture, and the print is free
of any distracting visual elements, such as scratches, pops, and speckles. Colors are strongly realized,
with no shade appearing over- or under-saturated. Fine detail is often exemplary as well; clothes,
faces, landscaping, or knickknacks that appear around the Crowley house or various scientific and
corporate offices all enjoy a rich texturing that's only accentuated by the absence of noise reduction.
Blacks are impeccable and flesh tones are often natural in tint, only sometimes taking on a slight red
push. Extraordinary Measures impresses as a Blu-ray transfer that seems straight out of the
movie theater; it's not going to wow viewers in the same way a Pixar Blu-ray might, but it's very
impressive, nearly flawless, in fact, save for a couple of instances of light banding and a few randomly
soft shots. Blu-ray enthusiasts wishing to witness a film-like presentation in the home will be thrilled
with this latest effort from Sony.
Extraordinary Measures features a decidedly yet expectedly reserved but nevertheless
wonderfully clear, clean, distortion-free, and natural DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music --
whether the score's light and fairly generic instrumental genre elements or any of Stonehill's Rock
tracks --
features a nice sense of space but remains limited primarily to the front half of the soundstage. The
track delivers a few light atmospherics, particularly in several outdoor Nebraska scenes, but like the
music, there's simply little back-channel activity to be found. The track's most sonically notable
element
comes from helicopter rotors tearing through the soundstage in one scene, accompanied by a palpable
but certainly not all that aggressive low end. Extraordinary Measures is little more than a
dialogue-centric Drama, and Sony's track stays true to the film's nature, delivering the spoken word
with nary an audible hiccup.
Extraordinary Measures features a small collection of extras, beginning with Meet John
Crowley (1080i, 4:35), a short piece that introduces viewers to both Pompe's disease and the
real-life
people whose story influenced the film. 'Extraordinary Measures:' The Power to Overcome
(1080p, 10:43) is an average but effective studio-produced behind-the-scenes piece that features cast
and crew speaking on the film and the real-life story behind it, intercut with plenty of scenes from the
movie. Also included is a collection of nine deleted scenes (1080p, 9:22); BD-Live functionality;
MovieIQ
connectivity; and 1080p trailers for Not the Messiah, The Young Victoria
(strangely presented in 480p),
The Back-Up Plan, Dear John, Not Easily Broken, Fireproof, Michael Jackson's This is
It, and Facing the Giants.
Extraordinary Measures isn't the end-all, be-all of feel-good cinema. It's pretty average in the
grand scheme of things and even within its own genre, but it tells a good story and contains solid
performances, with Fraser and
Meredith Droeger in particular impressing in their respective roles and bringing a genuine sincerity to
the
story. There's a heartfelt honesty to the entire movie as well, even if it lacks much suspense. Still,
Director Tom Vaughan (What Happens in Vegas)
captures the dynamics of the story both on the familial level and on the political level very well,
creating a dramatic juxtaposition between them but ultimately
balancing them out and never allowing the necessarily slower middle act to drown out the positives of
the rest of the story. Fans of inspirational cinema probably won't walk out of Extraordinary
Measures believing to have found the next great masterpiece of the genre, but it's a serviceable
and sufficiently moving and well-made picture that accomplishes all it sets out to do,
notably calling attention to Pompe's Disease.
Sony once again delivers a technically proficient disc with Extraordinary Measures. It's
becoming almost routine -- but pleasantly so
-- to see the studio time and again release high quality Blu-ray products. A stunning high definition
transfer, a capable lossless soundtrack, and a few extras make Extraordinary Measures a
strong candidate for an enjoyable weekend rental.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced Extraordinary Measures for release on Blu-ray on May 18. This medical drama, the first production for CBS Films, stars Brendan Fraser as the father of two children afflicted with a rare disease who joins forces with ...
