Extraordinary Measures
CBS Films | Release Date: January 22, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
24
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyKate Ward
Hardly an extraordinary movie. In fact, it's hard to believe that this schmaltzy film found its home on the big screen rather than the Hallmark Channel. But I dare you not to feel something at its conclusion. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazinePete Hammond
Like "The Blind Side," this is an inspiring and compelling true story. Harrison Ford is at the top of his game in this remarkable film. Read full review
70
SlateDana Stevens
Fraser and Ford are both actors of limited range who can be extremely appealing in the right role, and here, they're both ideally cast. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
It's a refreshingly human-scale saga. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The screenplay by Robert Nelson Jacobs affirms life and jerks tears with welcome degrees of humor and muscle. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
It's a nice, feel-good story with an appealing cast and strong production values. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
The overall feel is one of a generic, feel-good drama, albeit one with Harrison Ford stomping around most of the time as if someone kicked him in the shins. One suspects that this is a story that deserved better. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The storytelling and the visual style are rarely more than workmanlike, and the big scenes arrive punctually and are played with minimal nuance. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Extraordinary Measures has a soppy piano-and-strings score, but the primal fear of loss sharpens every scene. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
There’s something off-putting about this film’s optimism: After all, how many people can afford to do what Crowley did? Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
Extraordinary Measures isn’t extraordinary. It’s simply safe. Read full review
50
VarietyRob Nelson
Doesn't reach far beyond its smallscreen genotype as a disease-of-the-week telepic, despite the star power of Brendan Fraser as the desperate dad and Harrison Ford as an eccentric, ornery researcher. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
There's nothing cinematic about this turgid tearjerker except the slumming presence of movie star Harrison Ford. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
An ordinary film with ordinary characters in a story too big for it. Life has been reduced to a Lifetime movie. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The results feel a little harried, as if the focus issues were never really solved. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
For this dynamic to work, the actors need to be of complementary temperament and equal power. This is not the case. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterStephen Farber
It never rises above formula fare. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
The film closely follows the pattern of 1992’s "Lorenzo’s Oil," but with fewer filmmaking risks, visceral emotions, and colorful, outsized characters. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Harrison Ford has obviously enrolled in the Al Pacino School of Old Man Acting. He yells, sputters and glowers his way through the ultra-ordinary and well-intentioned Extraordinary Measures. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
At times, the script gets too dense with technicalities and boardroom arguments for lay folk to comprehend. But at its best, it humanizes the plight of families who cope day-to-day with disabling illness Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
For real sparks keep a look out for Jared Harris in a supporting role that injects a mildly diverting note of corporate intrigue into an otherwise unsurprising procedural. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The most intriguing aspects of Extraordinary Measures relate to the behind-the-scenes politicking that goes on to keep the drug development on track, although the screenplay cheats toward the end (presumably because of time constraints and a concern that too much detail might bore audiences). Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
The story is poignant and compelling, but ultimately the film doesn't have the heft it needs to fill out the big screen. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
Best when Fraser is on screen. Ian McKellen, who starred with Fraser in "Gods and Monsters," called him the most natural actor he'd worked with, marvelling at Fraser's ability to disappear into roles. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Basically “Lorenzo’s Oil” without the earlier film’s visual flair. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Isn't emotionally manipulative but simply dull. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Sometimes feels like one of those "disease of the week" TV movies from the 1970s. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
Fraser is open and appealing, and Ford, his acting mostly isolated in the right corner of his mouth, does well enough with a secondary part. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Most of the movie unfolds in such a dull manner. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith Uhlich
Sadly, “Get out of my lab!” is not the new “Get off my plane!” Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Everything about this excruciatingly dull, talky film screams made-for-network-TV: The I'm-only-here-for-a-paycheck performances by famous actors; the Crate and Barrel catalog mise-en-scene; the syrupy, heartwarming score that lays the pathos on so thickly you gag on it. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Looks and tastes an awful lot like a TV movie of the week. Read full review
20
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Extraordinary Measures requires extraordinary tolerance for bathos, bombast and plain old unpleasantness. Read full review
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