Movie Review: Getaway (2013)

To call Getaway the best film directed by Courtney Solomon does not really say much. The man, better known for producing and being one of the names behind After Dark Films, previously directed Dungeons and Dragons and An American Haunting. Those are a couple films that I hold no affection for. Now, the surprising thing here is that while this is not, I repeat, not a good movie, I found it to still be watchable. Yes, it does lead an assault on your cranium, but there is something about the relentlessness that kept me watching.



Getaway barely has a story, basically, there is just enough to string it along the action. Action, you say? That is virtually all there is to this, and considering there is no CGI in the car based action, that has to count for something. Right? Now, it probably would have been better if it didn't look like it was cobbled together from forty Go Pro cameras, but I find myself in a forgiving mood and will let it slide just a little on this.

The movie plays out a bit like 12 Rounds or Die Hard with a Vengeance, but without any actually interesting characters. It is all about the go, go, go and the smash, smash, smash. Getaway is in a constant state of forward motion, rarely stopping to catch is breath. Then, when it does stop, you wish it didn't. The slow moments do not work in the favor of the film.

Ethan Hawke stars as Brett, a washed out former race car driver living in Bulgaria with his wife. He comes home one day to find the house trashed, blood on the floor' and his wife gone. He then receives a call from a man with that distinct Euro-baddie vibe (a not so well hidden Jon Voight), he is a villain reminiscent from that dude in Taken. The voice on the phone instructs him to steal a souped up, limited edition Mustang Shelby Cobra something something something. It is a nice looking car, but it is equipped with all manner of cameras to keep the bad guy in the loop and province plenty of angles to cut maniacally between.

Anyway, our hero starts driving all over the place, ramming into stuff, running from and into the police, and even picking up a young passenger, all at the instructions of the voice on the phone. The passenger is played by Selena Gomez and is one of the weaker elements, she just never shuts up. Aargh.

So, while the wrecks are going on, they have to figure out what the endgame is. Turns out it probably wasn't worth wasting time on. So, if you happen to go and see it, don't waste brain power on it, just watch the car wrecks.

In a way, I kind of liked the general insanity of this thing. It is nothing special, but I loved arching the cars go flying around. It is far from the worst thing you will ever see and one watching is probably more than enough. Ethan Hawke puts on his game face and leads you through the silliness. Just sit back and try to enjoy the ride. At least try to...

Mildly Recommended.