A Perfect Getaway

Starring: Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, Marley Shelton, Chris Hemsworth
Directed by: David Twohy
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A couple (Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich) on their honeymoon in Hawaii hear about grisly murders that took place in Honolulu. They soon after meet another couple (Timothy Olyphant, Kiele Sanchez) who seem to be a bit off, and another couple (Marley Shelton, Chris Hemsworth) who seem to be running from something. Paranoia soon sets in.

Review:

Tim: A Perfect Getaway is a throwback B-movie that loudly proclaims it is smarter than the average thriller. As the movie progresses, the intelligence certainly seems to be there. The movie is twisty, tricky, and keeps you guessing. And then, at a certain point, it starts to seem less intelligent than it proclaimed. It commits cliches at which it earlier laughed. In the end, it is disappointing to find that this movie isn't as different as it thought it was- and not much smarter than the average thriller.

The setting, however, is certainly interesting. The landscape shots of remote parts of Hawaii are beautiful, and there is something entertaining about watching a psychological thriller set in such a lush, beautiful location. I liked that this movie was set in Hawaii, although that only helped it to a certain extent.

The cast was fairly decent. Steve Zahn is a really good actor, and I loved that he got a chance here to flex those acting muscles a bit. He really runs the gamet of emotions here. I never really bought the relationship between he and Milla Jovovich. Jovovich feels like a tough, action-focused woman, and I never saw the chemistry between them. I thought this hurt the movie. Timothy Olyphant is a bit over-the-top, but he brings a great deal of energy and fun to the role. He played it up- I just wish he showed a little more restraint. His better half, Kiele Sanchez, isn't actually much better. She is a bit bland as an actress, and she did very little to impress me.

This movie is actually pretty straightforward, and relies on a few big twists to make its name. While some have claimed to have seen the big twist coming, I did not. Still, it felt a little cheap to me. While technically it all makes sense, I felt like the movie relied on trickery, rather than intelligence to pull this off. Plus, there are some thriller cliches that this movie simply couldn't escape. So, while the story is different and somewhat unexpected, in the end, this felt like a thriller we've all seen before.

A Perfect Getaway tried very hard to set itself apart from similar thrillers by telling us how smart it is- rather than just showing us. It failed to execute on its lofty promises, and that was very disappointing. I thought this movie did a number of things right, and I was fairly engaged throughout the film. While this movie isn't quite up to standards, it still manages to be a fairly decent way to spend an hour and a half. This is a mostly harmless, entertaining little thriller, and while I didn't love it, it did the trick.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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