Sin Escape

I don't normally take the time to write reviews as I don't feel I have much to add to everyone else's take. But Getaway has been so poorly received, unjustifiably so in my opinion, that I thought I'd weigh in.

This is a popcorn movie. Nothing more. I understood that going in. It's not high art. It doesn't revolutionize movie-making, and is not even the high point of the genre. But it's entertaining, and that's all I ask of a movie. Give me some popcorn and a Coke, and dim the lights, let me forget about the world for a couple hours, and I'm happy.

The two leads are very good in my opinion. Ethan Hawke is a very capable actor, and he brought a depth to his character that I didn't expect. He expressed concern without being overly dramatic or gnashing his teeth or chewing up the scenery, and conveyed his character's limitations without appearing dumb. Selena Gomez was bright, and had the expected attitude of someone her character's age without being precocious or annoying.

Most of the plot was admittedly easy to figure out early on, but the movie still provided plenty of excitement in how it got there. There were some aspects of the story that were dismissed without explaining a lot of detail, but it didn't rely on otherwise smart people doing dumb things to make it all work, and I appreciated that as well.

I've read criticisms by others concerning the "shaky-cam" technique during the chase scenes. I didn't find that to be a problem in the least. It was much less annoying or even apparent than in movies like Transformers. I found everything was easy to follow and served the story well - I didn't think any style choices got in the way. And there was one street-level point of view sequence that I thought was especially well done - presumably a single take - that gave me a real rush.

Overall, I enjoyed Getaway, but that may be in part because I went in with low expectations due to its opening weekend box office and some negative reviews. With stiff competition this summer there are certainly better choices for your entertainment dollar. I don't know if I'd even consider this in the top ten or twenty films this year. But for cheap ticket at a matinée or second-run theater, or later as a rental it's an entertaining diversion.

'GETAWAY': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

B car-chase movie starring Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez. Hawke plays an ex-race-car driver who's forced to bend to the will of a madman in order to rescue his kidnapped wife. He finds help from a young girl (Gomez) who knows a lot about computers and is the owner of the stolen car he's driving. The movie co-stars Jon Voight as the voice of the 'madman' and was directed by Courtney Solomon (who also directed the B movies 'DUNGEONS & DRAGONS' and 'AN American HAUNTING'). The film was written by first time feature film writers Sean Finegan and Gregg Maxwell Parker. It's already well known as a painfully bad movie but in my opinion it's not that bad.

Hawke stars as Brent Magna, a former race-car driver who's wife (Rebecca Budig) is kidnapped by an unknown man (Voight). The man tells Magna he must steal a car, a Shelby Mustang Super Snake, from a parking garage and do whatever he says (in it) or his wife will be killed. Magna is forced to drive around like a madman, endangering innocent bystanders, while constantly evading capture by cops. When the owner of the mustang (Gomez) shows up attempting to take her car back Magna is forced to take her along with him. Her computer skills become useful as the two try to outwit this crazy man, holding them all captive, and end his crazy games.

The movie is a pretty routine car-chase action flick but it delivers what it promises. It has a decent amount of thrilling and spectacular action scenes and is pretty fast paced. The story is pretty dumb and the character development is ridiculous but people don't usually go to see movies like this for things like that. If not for the casting of Hawke, Gomez and Voight this movie probably would have been a direct to video release where it could have been a little more respected for what it is instead of failing to meet unusually high expectations. The movie is a bad B movie but it's still kind of fun (at least in places). I like Hawke as a leading man and Voight makes a good sinister villain (even if you only ever see his mouth and hear his voice). Gomez is cute but she still doesn't seem to have any acting skills and her character is pretty annoying in this. The movie is what it is and if you know what you're getting into it shouldn't be that much of a letdown.

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The "plot" follows Former race car driver Brent Magna (Played by Ethan Hawke.) Who discovers that his wife has been kidnapped by a mysterious man referred to as the Voice,(Played by Jon Voight.) Who promises to promises to return her to safety if he completes a series of broad and laughable tasks while driving through the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria in a supped up Shelby Super Snake Mustang. Along the way, he runs into the original owner of the Mustang named "The Kid" (Played by Selena Gomez.)

Now, at first glance it's very easy to see that this movie's plot and characters are there to serve as a backdrop for the action, which would at least be tolerable, if the action was any good, sadly that is not the case here. Getaway is weighted Down by it's clunky script and frantic direction. The action sequences are unwatchable, consisting of exhaustingly monotonous and poorly edited car chases. And in the rare moments where it escapes that monotony, it usually crosses the border into unintentional hilarity.

The Acting is terrible. Though in Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez' defense, the horrible dialogue (which consists mostly of sh*t and a**hole) is to more to blame then they are.

Never has a movie been more apply titled than "Getaway". Because it's warning you to "Getaway" and avoid this clunker at all costs.

This story is a poor excuse for a high speed car ride. The plot does not make much sense, and is not believable. Selena Gomez's character is annoying.

According to another user, this movie is "brainless fun", which I really must contend with. This movie sure is brainless, but there isn't much fun to be found here. The script is dismal, the central plot makes no sense, and the chase sequences are edited in the contemporary shaky-cam style that makes it hard to tell what is going on at some points, which really gets my goat. The whole reason I went to see this movie is to see some kick-butt car cinematography, but there is better, free content on youtube that I could have watched to whet my appetite(like Ken Block's gymkhana series or vintage rally B-group footage). To say that I am disappointed would be a lie, I had a feeling this movie would be a dud because they hardly marketed it at all and released at the end of summer, which is always a bad sign.

Ethan Hawke's performance may be the only redeemable part of this movie, as I could really tell he was working hard to make the 11th grade level dialog work. Selena Gomez's acting was predictably sub-par, it seems to me the only reason she was included in Getaway was to get guys my age into the theater. And if the two other dudes in the theater besides my friends and I are evidence, it didn't work.

In short, don't waste your time on Getaway, watch The Transporter or Top Gear instead to get your gearhead action fix.