Directed by Courtney Solomon, Getaway wastes no time in getting to the point. In the film, Ethan Hawke plays Brent Magna, a former race-car driver whose wife was kidnapped and in order to get her back he must obey all the orders the villainous kidnapper (Jon Voight) tells him. After being told to drive a beautiful Shelby Super Snake Mustang that’s been retrofitted with bulletproof armor and cameras to watch him, he must drive around the city causing destruction and attracting the police but can’t get caught if he wants to see his wife again. Along the way Selene Gomez, known as The Kid, hops in the car and we soon find out that it belongs to her. After that, we discover that she is a bright girl who is really into cars and computers which plays out well for Brent but not for her as she is forced to tag along with him as he continues on his quest to save his wife.
I decided to see this movie for one reason and that was to watch a Shelby Mustang rip the streets of Bulgaria up. As a Mustang enthusiast and proud owner of a pony it was hard for me to resist the urge despite the fact that the movie stars Selena Gomez in one of the main roles. Let’s just say the car sounds wonderful and does work throughout the film.
Firstly, the worst part of the movie has to be listening to Selena act. She was completely miscast and nothing she said in the film sounded credible at all. I mean, seriously, would anyone ever believe she could know all about cars but then at the same time be some sort of expert hacker? Maybe one or the other, which is a stretch, but certainly not both for the way she portrayed her character. On top of that, she said she rarely saw her father yet SPOILER he would tell her about the security protocols at the bank he runs? END SPOILER I think that is highly unlikely. She had almost no chemistry with Hawke which made listening to them talk painful at times even during the one or two comical moments.
Outside of Selena’s performance and poor casting choice, the one other major thing that bothered me was the inaccurate use of speed throughout the film. There is no way in hell regular European cop cars could ever keep up with a Shelby on a straightaway, ever, that’s where American muscle thrives. I’ll give it to them on turns but then during the final chase of the film, the Shelby is chasing a Mercedes SUV and is somehow unable to catch up to it. Maybe the armor is weighing the car down but, again, on a straightaway there is no match, especially when one vehicle is souped-up and the other isn’t.
The star of the movie isn’t any of the actors, though Jon Voight was a boss, but rather the getaway car itself
, the Shelby Super Snake Mustang, a beauty of a vehicle if I may say so myself. Ethan Hawke, and whoever handles the driving during some of the tougher stunt work, rip the crap out the vehicle, usually pushing it to its limits (even if it is really a regular ‘stang with a Shelby shell) for an intense ride throughout the small streets of this European city when mostly small little nothing cars roam the roads.
Though the movie itself isn’t anything special, and is certainly brought down a few notches by Gomez, it does have a few redeeming qualities. The first is that there is surprisingly very little downtime, I would go so far as to say that about 80-85% of the movie is adrenaline pumping car chasing action which is great for people who want to see a car cause havoc in a confined European city. The other redeeming quality is the camera work. The car was retrofitted with a bunch of cameras, allowing us to get some amazing views of the Shelby doing crazy stunts or travelling at high speeds in pursuit of other vehicles. It was almost like playing Need for Speed and being able to change your car view camera angle, it was pretty neat.
Overall, the plot of Getaway is very simple and geared towards simple minded action fans and those that love a good car chase (like me). That being said, there are a lot of noticeable flaws in the action that take away from some its realistic enjoyment and a majority of the acting and dialogue just isn’t what you would hope for in a movie that’s as rudimentary as this. Getaway has its fun moments but in the end it’s a mediocre film at best that’ll be forgotten in a week’s time.
Rating: Some awesome car chases from a Shelby Mustang isn’t enough to save this simple getaway actioner from the annoyances of a former Disney star (4.8/10)
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