Desperate Measures

Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton must have been desperate for a box office hit to sign on for this queasy, pumped-up thriller about a San Francisco cop (Garcia) whose leukemia-stricken son needs a bone marrow transplant, and the brilliant psychopath (Keaton) serving a life sentence who is the only compatible donor. When the killer agrees to the operation as a cover for his escape, the cop is forced to keep him alive at all costs, prompting one official to ask the unsettling question, "How many people are going to have to die tonight so that kid of yours can live?" Speaking of desperate, the film's last shot is unforgivable. Not recommended. (K. Lee Benson)