[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/desperate_measures.jpeg]]

->'''Peter [=McCabe=]:''' What do you have to offer me, Frank?
->'''Frank Conner:''' Redemption.
->'''Peter [=McCabe=]:''' If I can't eat it, drink it, fuck it or fire it, I ain't interested!
->'''Frank Conner:''' But you're coming with me all the same.

''Desperate Measures'' is a 1998 American action thriller film adapted by David Klass from his [[TheFilmOfTheBook own novel of the same name]], directed by Barbet Schroeder and starring Creator/MichaelKeaton and Creator/AndyGarcia.

San Francisco police officer Frank Conner (Garcia) is trying to locate a bone marrow donor for his son Matt, who has leukemia. He discovers a compatible donor in an imprisoned criminal named Peter [=McCabe=] (Keaton), and must convince him to donate his bone marrow. [=McCabe=], who is deemed a dangerous sociopath, takes very little convincing to go along with Frank's request. [=McCabe=] has his own plan to escape which he pursues ruthlessly, and it's up to Frank to chase him down in time to save his son's life.

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!!Contains examples of:

* AbusiveParents: Peter [=McCabe=] retorts that he doesn't have much faith in fathers after Frank says he tries to be a good dad to Matt.
-->'''[=McCabe=]:''' "Aint that nice, ''you tried.'' Even my daddy could say that. He beat the shit out of me every day but y'know, ''[[DeadpanSnarker he tried.]]''"
* AntiVillain: [=McCabe=] is a mix of [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type 1 and 2]]. He has no particular desire to steal or murder or commit any crimes for his own gain or ForTheEvulz. He just wants to escape and disappear, and he'll gladly kill to do it.
* BoxedCrook: In the original deal, [=McCabe=] is offered some more prison comforts if he'll donate his bone marrow.
* ChaseScene: Frank's wheeled pursuit of [=McCabe=] towards the film's climax.
* CombatPragmatist: [=McCabe=] will use his fists, knives, guns, syringes filled with hydrochloric acid, and everything up to improvised explosives to fight the cops and escape.
* CriminalMindGames
* CrusadingWidow: Frank's wife is a PosthumousCharacter at the start of the film and all he has left is his son.
* TheDeterminator: Both Frank Conner and Peter [=McCabe=]. Much of the film is built around the idea of two [[TheDeterminator determinators]] with opposing goals colliding with each other. It's even {{Lampshaded}} by [=McCabe=] as the quality he most admires in a person.
-->'''[=McCabe=]:''' Go Frank! Now you see that? There is a lesson for us all. That man has a goal and he is determined to achieve it, no matter what.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [=McCabe=] would never kill a child, despite threatening to do so.
* EvilGenius: [=McCabe=] is described as having no real formal education above the ninth grade, but possesses an IQ of over 150.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Peter [=McCabe=] is very pleasant with Frank and the hospital staff, yet attempts to kill many of them without hesitation in order to escape.
* FourEyesZeroSoul: [=McCabe=] is first seen wearing glasses with a cold emotionless expression on his face.
* FreudianExcuse: [=McCabe=] claims his father "beat the shit out of him" every day.
* GodIsEvil: [=McCabe=] says he can't imagine any other kind could possibly exist.
* HollywoodHacking: [=McCabe=]'s exploitation of the prison computer systems borders on this.
* IJustWantToBeFree: All that [=McCabe=] really wants, and he'll do anything to get it.
* IndyPloy: [=McCabe=] appears to be a master of thinking on his feet and exploiting whatever he can find for his own ends.
* JustifiedCriminal: [=McCabe=], by his own [[BlueAndOrangeMorality twisted logic]].
* KarmaHoudini: The end of the film implies [[spoiler:that after being recaptured and donating the bone marrow, [=McCabe=] still escapes scott-free.]]
* KickTheDog: [=McCabe=] takes Matt as a hostage to keep Frank from pursuing him in the maintenance tunnels of the hospital and threatens to kill Matt and 'make Frank's problem go away forever'. Later, [=McCabe=] admits to Matt that [[EvenEvilHasStandards he'd never kill him]], but making the threat is still a pretty disgusting thing to do.
* LittlestCancerPatient: Matt, whose need for a marrow transplant kickstarts the plot.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: [=McCabe=] is barely slowed down by a bullet to the leg for most of the film.
* MustLetThemGetAway: At several times, Frank must allow [=McCabe=] to escape because killing him would destroy his viability as a donor, and [=McCabe=] offers Frank no other choice but to let him run or kill him outright.
* NietzscheWannabe: [=McCabe=] doesn't believe in any kind of morality and feels no remorse for his victims, saying he [[GodIsEvil could not imagine a god who would care]]. However, it's Matt who truly believes in futility as he has come to accept that there is no hope and that his leukemia will kill him.
* NoodleIncident: [=McCabe=] is apparently a mass murderer, but he is only presented in any detail as having killed prison guards and fellow inmates, leaving little explanation of the murders that landed him in prison in the first place. [=McCabe=] does describe his first victims as "a lady in a hat" and "a guy in a store", but no further details are given.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: When Matt tries to disarm [=McCabe=] with a wrench, Peter comments that they definitely have compatible genes.
* {{Novelization}}: By Robert Tine.
* PapaWolf: Frank doesn't take kindly to guns being pointed at his son.
* PetTheDog: [=McCabe=] towards Matt, the only person he shows any kindness to. He even urges Matt to become TheDeterminator and keep fighting like Peter and Frank do. He still [[TheUnfettered doesn't put Matt's life over his own freedom]] though.
* RedemptionRejection: [=McCabe=] doesn't even care for redemption, seeing it as an empty meaningless concept.
* SchiffOneLiner: ''"What kind of car do you have?"''
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Frank Conner all but destroys his career in order to pursue [=McCabe=] to save his son.
* ShippedInShackles: [=McCabe=] is far too dangerous to be transferred between locations without handcuffs on his hands and feet.
* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Frank's Boss, Capt. Jeremiah Cassidy.
* SympatheticMurderer: [=McCabe=], just a little bit.
* TookALevelInKindness: Peter [=McCabe=] never exactly warms up, but ultimately comes to respect Frank for loving his son in a way that [=McCabe=] was never loved by [[FreudianExcuse his own father.]]
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Subverted- while the trailers made it clear that [=McCabe=] was necessary to save Matt's life, they never explained that it was a surgical procedure, and almost implied it was a supernatural reason.
* TroubledChild: Matt has become heartbreakingly resigned to dying young to the point where he has become a NietzscheWannabe.
* TheUnfettered: Peter [=McCabe=]. While there are some lines Frank Conner won't cross, there is no line that is sacred for [=McCabe=].
* WouldntHurtAChild: [=McCabe=] is perfectly willing to kill people who try to kill or capture him but he won't shoot innocent children.
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