Review of A Perfect Getaway (2009) by Hoops2448 — 07 Jun 2012

I recently had a discussion about Milla Jovovich with several other film fanatics and whether or not she has a place in Hollywood after churning out quite a large volume of bad movies. I argued that her roles in films like The Fifth Element, Stone and even her minuscule part in Zoolander made up for all the bad.

Many did not agree. However I find myself reaching the precipice. I understand that Jovovich loves cult material, hence her participation in the horrendous Ultraviolet, and B movie throwbacks but by this point she should at least be able to tell the difference between bad cult movies and good ones.

A Perfect Getaway acts as a throwback to the B movie horror films of yesteryear but does so in a way void of both reason and logic. The plot is to put it bluntly, stupid. The film relies on pointing out film cliches like 'the red herring' to hide the fact the films red herring (you will know it when you see it) is incredibly simple minded.

The dialogue between the characters however is actually quite good, the relationships built in the film feel real which says a lot in a film that is absent a coherent story. The cast is respectable with a few surprisingly good performances (Kiele Sanchez, Timothy Olyphant).

However the use of both Chris Hemsworth and Marley Shelton for such small performances seems like a waste of potential. Milla Jovovich has the best character to work with but she never really takes advantage.

The weak link is Steve Zahn who's straight laced screenwriter character grates making him a dreadful lead considering most of the film follows him. The direction (by Pitch Black's David Twohy) is acceptable but never surprising or anything more than what is required.

It is a soul crushingly mundane movie that never lives up to the B movies it is trying to emulate.