An old-fashioned disease of the week flick with proper stars parachuted in to justify a theatrical run, Extraordinary Measures is the sort of True Life drama that keeps the Hallmark channel chugging along. As its Van Damme-friendly title suggests, it is an extraordinary piece of work. Playing a maverick boffin and speaking in lines that might have been generated by Microsoft Harrison, Mr. Ford is on familiar ground.
“Get to the point, son,” he intones in a gruff Harrison Ford sort of way at desperate dad Brendan Fraser, “What do you want from me?”
Mr Fraser’s kids, you understand, have Pompeii disease, a rare enzyme disorder associated with a life expectancy of nine or 10.
Mr Ford, however, is a scientist of the Henrich Hertz variety, you know, the type who shrugs when asked about the practical uses for radio waves and says ‘None’. Happily, he is quickly persuaded by his co-star’s adorable offspring. Unhappily, this puts the two men in the employ of Big Pharma.
To be fair, Extraordinary Measures merges two difficult cinematic prospects – boardroom drama and scientific research – and moulds them into an entertaining shape. It’s relentlessly formulaic and eye wateringly cheesy – “These are children with hopes and dreams!” pleads Mr. Fraser as he rages against The Man – but it has its own pleasingly hoary rhythm.