Review of Getaway (2013) by Thegodfatherson — 29 Aug 2013

Cribbing from countless adrenaline-fueled concept films, from "Speed" to any Jason Statham movie you like, "Getaway" (not to be confused with the two "The Getaway" films based on Jim Thompson's novel) tries to ride its thin concept, hoping the fumes of constant engine revving are intoxicating.

Director Courtney Solomon splices together footage from cameras inside the car (from which the kidnapper eyes his pawns) and from exterior stuntmen-enabled wide shots. The action (all at nighttime) is messily and crudely filmed.

The plot mechanics are often laughable. How, then, to explain the film's sudden elegance in one (and only one) shot that appears toward the end of the film like a parting of the waters? Suddenly, the frantic cutting and the relentlessly grating score dissipate for a lengthy first-person perspective of a car speeding down a rolling, suburban road, gracefully sliding around traffic at dawn.

It's a diamond that can't make up for the other 89 minutes of rough.