This week on Reel Shorts, a former race car driver and young woman are at the mercy of a mystery criminal in the high-speed brain-dead drama, Getaway.
Audio Review
The story centers on Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) who must get behind the wheel of a Shelby Mustang Super Snake and follow the orders of a mysterious man (Jon Voight) to save his kidnapped wife (Rebecca Budig). He is aided on his race against time by an anonymous, computer-savvy girl known simply as The Kid (Selena Gomez).
Getaway is directed by Courtney Solomon and written by Gregg Maxwell Parker and Sean Finegan.
The film features a paper-thin plot centering on an unknown voice with sinister intent, a super-charged armored car and annoying passenger (Gomez) riding shotgun who, arguably, represents the voice of reason and the film’s principle problem solver. The film features plenty of smashed cars and high-speed chases that are largely redundant . . . until the film’s final sequence, which is the film’s best.
There are plenty of moments in this film where the logic that the film initially introduces fails miserably and it is also very strange that the film’s high-performance vehicle fails to outrun ANY vehicles in the film, motorcycles, other cars or even a Mercedes truck. Hawke looks scruffy and disinterested while Gomez looks like she belongs in another film. One final insult – the film’s big reveal is rendered moot by the studio’s marketing campaign. Our advice: stay away from Getaway!
Grade: D