Getaway - Via di fuga

A late night car chase through the cosmopolitan streets of Sofia, Bulgaria; throbbing with that distinct and exotic coolness European cities exude when darkness falls... it's an idea that could have been executed very well. Unfortunately not in the case of Getaway, which instead slaughters the idea so poorly you can't help but feel sorry for it. 

Everyone loves a good car chase. You won't find one in Getaway though. All the chase scenes are nothing more than a nauseating rapid succession of very brief cuts. It's literally   impossible to get a wider picture and understanding of what is going. Many scenes could have been quite impressive if they had just been shot at a wider angle and held a longer frame. This does not happen once though. The breakneck speed at which the cuts are made (close up of car headlights-exploding box-back wheel-driver-back to headlights) just doesn't allow the chase to flow and is frustrating to watch. How can one appreciate what's happening when they can't even see what's happening?

Selena Gomez may be trying to break out of her Disney image (and good for her) but that doesn't mean she's suited to every role. Her performance here feels weak and definitely isn't helped by an even weaker dialogue. Ethan Hawke's performance is more believable, but it's only one taste bud of sweetness in the overall bad taste this movie leaves. 

There's pretty much zero laughs, the first half is filled with the characters bickering annoyingly, the chase scenes are visually unwatchable, it's painfully unnecessarily noisy and the plot is nothing but mediocre. 

Fortunately I viewed the film at an advance screening and therefore given it was free I just felt disappointed, rather than feeling ripped off as I would have had I actually handed over my hard earned dollars in exchange for that mess. I tried my best to enjoy the film, but to be honest all I wanted to do was getaway.

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.

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.