Review of Getaway (2013) by Dave J — 18 Jun 2014

Thursday, June 19, 2014.

(2013) Getaway.

ACTION THRILLER.

There's not a single credible action sequence throughout the entire movie even though it's supposed to be an action thriller. Filmed in Bulgaria, even though there were times it looked like that it was filmed in Germany. The opening has former race car driver, Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) blackmailed to steal someone's car to perform some dangerous tasks after kidnapping his wife. This mysterious stranger also threatened to kill his wife if conditions are not met, which is not to be caught by the police, and to complete whatever instructions given. And along the way, he picks up the original owner of the car, whom Brent refers to as "The Kid", and she's played by Selena Gomez who's the only daughter of a owner of one of the most prestigious banks around the area. She also happens to be a whiz at computers as well.

Now, I don't mind this ridiculous set up, but when it comes to the action sequences, I have to say that they're less than inspiring which uses many close-up 1 second shots, subliminal images and quick cuts. We see the car crashes, but there's zero effect about how they come about in the first place. At least 80% of the car crashes shown here, viewers have zero knowledge about how they happen. It's like witnessing the actual crashes happen without knowing how they got started. I mean, why would I want to see that. It's one of the worst photographed car sequences ever caught on film since many of the shots, are shown either from the passenger side or from the hood. There are no shots shown from the air or on from other angles. Therefore, more than half the time, viewers are unable to figure out what they're doing or where they're. Yes, it's really that frustrating, especially if it didn't even use any CGI, they should get another well known director.

2 out of 4 stars.