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Judy Thorburn's Movie Reviews

Getaway | Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez, Jon Voight | Review

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2sm The Flick Chicks movie rating for this film is BAD Judy Thorburn

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2lg The Flick Chicks movie rating for this film is BAD

 

Getaway

Not to be confused with Sam Peckinpah's ill fated romance on the run/action thriller,  THE Getaway from 1972 starring Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen, or Roger Donaldson's 1994 remake starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, the new summer release titled Getaway, directed by Courtney Solomon, (2000’s Dungeons and Dragons) has almost nothing in common with those flicks other than a man, a woman, and car chases.

Ethan Hawke plays Brent Magna, (could that name be more pretentious?) a former professional race car driver who arrives at his home in Sofia, Bulgaria one day and discovers his wife has been kidnapped by unknown thugs.  To save her life, he is forced to steal a souped up Shelby Mustang and follow the instructions of a mysterious voice (Jon Voight) who's watching his every move through cameras installed on the car.  Soon Brent is told to drive through a crowd filled outdoor market, a skating rink and heavy traffic, deliberately causing mayhem and destruction with orders to “Smash into everything you can”.

During a brief rest period, Brent comes face to face with a baby faced punk, only known as The Kid (a terribly miscast, Selena Gomez) with a gun who attempts to take back the stolen car she says is hers. We all know that ain't gonna happen, at least not till the conclusion, so of course, she is forced to become his accomplice and go along for the ride.

Eventually, we learn what is behind the unseen mastermind's madness and his ultimate goal.  That said, Getaway is really all about the action, putting the pedal to the metal at full speed ahead.

Unfortunately, at a running time of ninety minutes, the action becomes repetitive with one car chase after another featuring a continuous bombardment of crashes, explosions and shootings. Although well orchestrated with camera shots from all angles of the car that will have you feeling like you are seated right there alongside the actors, after a while, it all becomes dizzying and a bit tedious.

From my point of view, what we have here is a formula that has been overdone. Not only is Getaway a mix of Fast and Furious and Speed, there is the same old premise of someone held hostage in a life or death situation while a loved one is forced to do the bidding of a calculating, ruthless villain.

It also appears that with so much attention placed on editing the high octane action sequences, the element of continuity was ignored.  Obviously, the person in charge didn't do his or her job because there are several visually noticeable flaws that caught my attention. For starters, in the beginning of the film Brent is seen talking on an i-phone which later transforms into a Motorola. When the tables are turned on The Kid and her cell phone is thrown out the car, it miraculously reappears in a following scene. In addition, the scar on Brent's left cheekbone continually changes in appearance and even disappears at one point during the course of the film.

I guess when it comes down to it,  if movie goers have an unquenchable desire for over the top action and fast cars and couldn't care less about implausible elements or a well scripted story, than Getaway is right up your alley. As for yours truly, I can relate to Hawke's character. Both of us are pushed to the limit and couldn't wait for it to be over so we could getaway.

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