Getaway is the Paranormal Activity of car chase movies, and I mean that in the best way possible. The slick and concise (more on that later) action thriller from Courtney Solomon relies on skilled but non-established talent, an unusual location, and some incredible set pieces to make you love it, and the strategy paid off in full.
The story follows Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke), a racecar driver who is pulled from the circuit because of his reckless off-the-track behavior. Magna now lives in Eastern Europe as an ask-no-questions driver for hire. But when his wife and daughter are kidnapped by a mysterious Voice (Jonathan Voight), Magna must steal a car and follow the Voice's orders if he wants to see his family again safely. When the precocious teenage owner of the car (Selena Gomez) shows up, he has just another obstacle to navigate.
Odds are that if you're thinking about seeing Getaway, you're not doing so for the original story, Oscar-worthy moments of acting poignancy, or black-and-white-slow-motion-dream-scenes-with-experimental-electronic-soundtracks. Which is good, because none of those are in this movie.
What is in this movie is an awesome car: a custom Shelby Super Snake Mustang. The Mustang is a nice choice because the power is under the hood"”it's not a bad looking car by any means, but it goes for the American, Steve McQueen nod rather than a just-dropped-out-of-Gundam-Wing Mitsubishi.
And this car goes on one wild ride.
The crew behind this movie knew to save up resources when it came to character development and shiny locales and hi-tech cameras, and put most of their eggs in two set piece baskets"”and those are the two reasons any action fan must see this movie.
The car has been rigged with webcams by the Mysterious Voice, which allows, like in the found-footage horror movies we've been seeing, cool things to be shot at a low budget. In particular, there is one set piece which God and Courtney Solomon alone know how much careful planning it took to pull off, shot entirely in one take with a webcam-style camera in which at least five cars and trucks get totaled.
But what really puts the pedal to the metal (CAR WRITING!) is the motorcycle chase scene, about which the less given away the better. All you need to know is that it's a cross between the jetbike fight in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and the motorcycle fight in Hard Boiled.
In a time in Hollywood where special effects tends to lean out of the top windows of studios flashing their breasts and fishnets at weak-willed audiences, Getaway pulls all this off without green screen, without 3D, and without bullshit.
Oh, and while the acting isn't going to win Oscars, it's fun! I like Ethan Hawke in actions movies"”he took charge as the father in The Purge and pulls off a nice performance here. He isn't sexed up and rubbed with glistening oil like some kind of kung fu gigalo; he's just a normal looking guy with an edge to him. And Selena Gomez is likewise free of cheap sexualisation. Her character is a bit of a "nerd girl", so there may be something to fuel the online debates with that. It works for sure, though; she's peddling the Mila Kunis-stlye capable-girl sass ably.The acting, like so much else in The Getaway, might be bad--but it's the good, B-movie, Rifftrax-able kind of bad that doesn't make those set pieces you came to see any less enjoyable.
If you like action movies, see this. The trailer avoids showing off the sweetest set pieces, and the ending is (with a bit of a wink, I think) laughably abrupt. But see this. It is something original in Hollywood action, and we owe it to these entrepreneurs to voice our approval with some dollar dollar bills.
