Getaway (2013)

Getaway: Directed by Courtney Solomon. With Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez, Jon Voight, Rebecca Budig. To save his kidnapped wife, Brent Magna must drive at the orders of a mysterious man.

“I donu0026#39;t normally take the time to write reviews as I donu0026#39;t feel I have much to add to everyone elseu0026#39;s take. But Getaway has been so poorly received, unjustifiably so in my opinion, that I thought Iu0026#39;d weigh in.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a popcorn movie. Nothing more. I understood that going in. Itu0026#39;s not high art. It doesnu0026#39;t revolutionize movie-making, and is not even the high point of the genre. But itu0026#39;s entertaining, and thatu0026#39;s all I ask of a movie. Give me some popcorn and a Coke, and dim the lights, let me forget about the world for a couple hours, and Iu0026#39;m happy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe two leads are very good in my opinion. Ethan Hawke is a very capable actor, and he brought a depth to his character that I didnu0026#39;t expect. He expressed concern without being overly dramatic or gnashing his teeth or chewing up the scenery, and conveyed his characteru0026#39;s limitations without appearing dumb. Selena Gomez was bright, and had the expected attitude of someone her characteru0026#39;s age without being precocious or annoying.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMost of the plot was admittedly easy to figure out early on, but the movie still provided plenty of excitement in how it got there. There were some aspects of the story that were dismissed without explaining a lot of detail, but it didnu0026#39;t rely on otherwise smart people doing dumb things to make it all work, and I appreciated that as well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;ve read criticisms by others concerning the u0026quot;shaky-camu0026quot; technique during the chase scenes. I didnu0026#39;t find that to be a problem in the least. It was much less annoying or even apparent than in movies like Transformers. I found everything was easy to follow and served the story well – I didnu0026#39;t think any style choices got in the way. And there was one street-level point of view sequence that I thought was especially well done – presumably a single take – that gave me a real rush.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, I enjoyed Getaway, but that may be in part because I went in with low expectations due to its opening weekend box office and some negative reviews. With stiff competition this summer there are certainly better choices for your entertainment dollar. I donu0026#39;t know if Iu0026#39;d even consider this in the top ten or twenty films this year. But for cheap ticket at a matinée or second-run theater, or later as a rental itu0026#39;s an entertaining diversion.”