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- Michael Keaton Plays a Brilliant Serial Murderer with Rare Bone Marrow
- Desperate Measures Is an Uninspired Entry in the 1990s Serial-Killer Sweepstakes
- Keaton Left Hollywood After Desperate Measures
As a film critic with decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen many highs and lows in Hollywood. But few films have left as profound an impact on me as “Desperate Measures.” Released at the peak of serial killer movie mania, it was a promising project with a hefty budget, starring none other than Michael Keaton. Yet, it turned out to be one of the biggest flops of the decade, both critically and commercially.
In the late 1980s, Michael Keaton experienced a remarkable metamorphosis in his career. This transformation started with his outstanding dramatic role in the 1988 addiction movie “Clean and Sober.” Subsequently, he was cast as Batman in the hit movie of the same name in 1989. These roles allowed Keaton to move beyond the quick-witted comedic character that made him famous from films like “Gung Ho,” “Mr. Mom,” and “Night Shift” during the 1980s.
After his role in Batman, Keaton’s first major film was the 1990 psychological thriller Pacific Heights. In this movie, he portrayed a psychotic tenant who infested a couple’s home with cockroaches. However, with the exception of the 1992 Batman sequel, Batman Returns, and the highly praised 1994 newspaper comedy-drama film The Paper, none of Keaton’s subsequent leading roles made a significant impact on both audiences and critics.
Through the ’90s, a steady fall from grace in his leading movie roles reached its peak with the 1998 action-thriller “Desperate Measures.” In this film, Keaton played a ruthless serial killer whose bone marrow could save a cop’s dying son. Ironically, despite an impressive resume and numerous commercial aspects, “Desperate Measures” turned out to be the biggest flop of Keaton’s career as a leading actor. This box-office disaster, coupled with the failure of the 1998 fantasy comedy “Jack Frost,” ultimately led to a halt in his leading movie roles and even made him contemplate retirement.
Michael Keaton Plays a Brilliant Serial Murderer with Rare Bone Marrow
In “Desperate Measures”, Michael Keaton portrays Peter McCabe, a cunning sociopath who’s serving a life sentence for multiple murders, such as those of fellow inmates and guards within the Pelican State Bay Prison supermax facility. Due to his deadly actions and repeated escape attempts, McCabe is confined with various restraints. However, it seems he’ll spend the rest of his days behind bars at this prison, until fortune steps in, appearing as San Francisco police officer Frank Conner, played by Andy Garcia.
Conner’s son, Matt, is dying of leukemia and requires a bone marrow transplant to survive. After breaking into an FBI office and accessing the bureau’s computer, Conner discovers that the only bone marrow match for his son is McCabe, who reacts initially with disinterest until McCabe realizes how he can exploit his leverage over Conner to gain privileges and possibly his freedom.
As a film enthusiast, it’s crucial for me to emphasize that if McCabe were to perish before Conner’s bone marrow transplant, the whole operation would be futile. That’s why McCabe’s survival is essential until the transplant takes place. This predicament pushes McCabe to act courageously in his bid for freedom, knowing full well that Conner wouldn’t resort to killing him, as that would mean the loss of his only hope for a son’s life.
In a foreshadowing of his character specialties from the last 15 years, such as playing Vulture in “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, Keaton excels at portraying McCabe, a cunning psychologist who derives pleasure from manipulating people. However, despite the intriguing foundation it sets, the movie “Desperate Measures” fails to delve into its dramatic potential, instead focusing on showcasing unrealistic stunts and typical chase sequences.
In the movie “Desperate Measures,” the feeling of desperation isn’t so much conveyed through the human narrative of a cop father facing tough ethical and legal decisions to save his son, but rather by how swiftly it transitions into a conventional action film with little focus on exploring the dramatic and moral complexities of its plot. Instead of delivering a gripping drama and thriller, it unfortunately turns into a repetitive technical endeavor.
Desperate Measures Is an Uninspired Entry in the 1990s Serial-Killer Sweepstakes
In the final years of an era flooded with serial killer movies, Desperate Measures was unveiled. This period was characterized by the success of films like the 1991 horror-thriller The Silence of the Lambs and the 1995 crime-thriller Seven. Interestingly, Desperate Measures hit theaters just two weeks after the underperforming 1998 supernatural thriller Fallen, yet it still struggled to outshine this box office flop.
Boasting a production budget of $50 million, Desperate Measures ranked among the priciest films centered around serial killers during that decade. Regrettably, Desperate Measurers failed to impress at the box office, becoming one of the biggest disappointments of the era – not just within its genre but overall. The film’s opening weekend brought in approximately $5.8 million, and by the end of its theatrical run, it had amassed a domestic total of less than $14 million.
“Desperate Measures was Michael Keaton’s lowest-earning film as the main star since the 1991 crime drama One Good Cop, which only made around $12 million in the US. Considering its production cost, Desperate Measures stands out as Keaton’s biggest flop at the box office, with Jack Frost, another film from the same year, coming in second. Jack Frost was a significant failure, earning less than $35 million domestically compared to its $50 million production budget.”
Keaton Left Hollywood After Desperate Measures
After the movies “Desperate Measures” and “Jack Frost”, Michael Keaton didn’t appear in another film for around five years. This pause ended with the 2003 direct-to-video crime thriller, “Quicksand”. The next movie he starred in at a theater was the 2005 supernatural horror flick, “White Noise”, which turned out to be a surprising hit at the box office.
After experiencing a professional revival, Michael Keaton’s choices were consistently driven by his fundamental belief in prioritizing the caliber of roles over the financial prospects of the projects they were associated with. This dedication was evident as early as the 1990s when he declined a $15 million offer to star in the third Batman film, Batman Forever, due to creative differences with the direction of the Batman series. This significant choice was subsequently immortalized and spoofed in his comeback masterpiece, the 2014 comedy-drama Birdman, which earned Keaton his first Academy Award nomination for his outstanding portrayal as a faded former superhero star named Riggan Thomson. This marked the commencement of Keaton’s enduring career resurgence. Currently, Desperate Measures is available on Tubi. In an upcoming project, Goodrich, Keaton will share screen time with Mila Kunis.
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2024-09-02 21:02