Review of The Getaway (1972) by Steven N — 20 Jan 2010

Movie stars don't get a heck of a lot cooler than Steve McQueen, and action movies don't get a heck of a lot cooler that "The Getaway." I've always loved this film. Maybe it isn't Peckinpah's most visually dynamic film, but the story is sharp, and weird, and there are more than a few very good performances to pick up the slack.

The highlight of the film has to be the chemistry between Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen. It's oozing off of the screen like a freshly popped white head. Every moment these two are on the screen together you can't take your eyes off of them.

Only Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in "The Break Up" have ever come close to matching the heat between McQueen and McGraw. (If you can't sense the sarcasm in that last sentence then I feel sorry for you.

Really, really sorry.) Al Lettieri and Sally Struthers are good here as well, and their story-line is so wonderfully, undeniably, scary weird that it adds a whole other level of interest to the film. "The Getaway" is not without it's flaws, but overall it's a heck of a fun film that feels a lot more commercial than pretty much everything else Peckinpah ever did, but still has hints of that edginess that he was known and respected for.

I like it so much that I made it a part of my personal collection. Of course there are literally hundreds of other movies I've given that honor to over the years (and one of them is "Gymkata") so I guess maybe that isn't saying a whole heck of a lot, is it?