The other day we got pretty much snowed in here where I live… the first big snowstorm of the year. So, since my car was buried I decided to let someone else risk their neck and I ordered pizza and just stay in for the night and watch one of my dvds. As I started digging through the pile I came across my unopened copy of Desperate Measures that I bought like a year ago at a Blockbuster clearance bin. I remember liking the movie so I pealed the plastic wrap off it and popped it in the DVD player. Man I’m glad I did.
I forgot just how much I liked this movie. Yes, there is a heavy element of fluff to it no doubt… but this is the movie that made me believe Michael Keaton would make a great Joker for the Batman franchise. He plays the first “bad guy” I can remember cheering for in a movie. Some of the stuff his character does in this movie is insane!
Ok, the basic idea is that Andy Garcia is a cop with a young son who is going to die unless they find a matching donor for a bone marrow transplant He’s had no luck and decides to search prisoner medical records to see if any inmates would be a compatible match. He finds one… the only problem is that the person is a convicted serial killer named Peter McCabe (Keaton).
Garcia is able to offer him some small creature comforts while in prison if he’ll help out his son and donate his bone marrow. Keaton agrees… but he has a lot more in mind than just donating some body fluid. And that’s where the fun begins.
I love heist and escape movies. I love seeing how they plan and execute their plans… and this escape by Michael Keaton’s character is one of the best, and yet least “flashy” ones I’ve seen. I really love this movie and would recommend it to anyone. No, it’s not Silence of the Lambs or anything, and it doesn’t belong on “classic films” lists either… but it’s just a good time. Run by a video store or put it on your Netflix list… watch it… then tell me with a straight face Keaton wouldn’t have made a great Joker!
