SYNOPSIS: “Getaway” is the gritty, heart-pounding action thriller from Warner Bros. Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment starring Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke (“Training Day,” “The Purge,” “Sinister”), actress and international music sensation Selena Gomez (“Springbreakers,” “Wizards of Waverly Place”), and Academy Award® winner Jon Voight (“Coming Home,” the “National Treasure” films) under the direction of Courtney Solomon (“An American Haunting”), who also produced the film.

Former race car driver Brent Magna (Hawke) is pitted against the clock. Desperately trying to save the life of his kidnapped wife, Brent commandeers a custom Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake, taking it and its unwitting owner (Gomez) on a high-speed race against time, at the command of the mysterious villain holding his wife hostage.

REVIEW: In the words of my beloved Priscilla, “yeah, no” was my reaction to this film, overall. What surprises me the most is that it stars Ethan Hawke and when have you ever seen Ethan Hawke in a truly subpar movie? Exactly! Same goes for Jon Voight in the antagonist role. I was surely expecting better considering these two were in the film. I was wrong. The movie is not excruciatingly bad just surprisingly not as good as you would hope. As mentioned, it does have a good cast even including Selena Gomez in the mix. That was an interesting touch having her in the cast and she did well. It doesn’t hurt that she is very easy on the eyes. Ethan did about as good as he could with what he had to work with. And what he had to work with was lacking. The characters, the script, and even the story were cheesy, weak, and shallow. Well heck, even the title is lackluster. Obviously this movie is all about the eye candy and car chases, or what I would call smash & dash with stunts & grunts. You can quote me on that one if you like. Now I’ll admit, I’m generally a fan of these kinds of movies and yet it just didn’t quite satisfy me. There are a few scenes and moments that help the cause and along with the good cast the movie is kept afloat. Oh yeah, and of course there’s the CAR! What a car! I guess it’s a Shelby Super Snake Mustang that roars and moves. There is actually an “in memory of” in the end credits for Mr. Shelby. It was nice to see the movie makers use a good ol’ American muscle car as opposed to some elaborate Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, or similar vehicular beast. This makes it more relatable.

There is no doubt the film is fast in every sense. Probably the best feature of this film other than the car and the action is the cinematography. It keeps up with the fast pace of the movie quite well. It gives you views of the action that are amazing. There is one particular chase scene that is just wow! The story takes place in Sofia, Bulgaria where Jon’s character decides to pick on Brent Magna (Ethan) real hard. It’s a hostage situation that turns Brent into a puppet. The location makes the use of a Ford Mustang that much more interesting. Well, the location itself is pretty interesting too. On top of that, the fact that Brent is in Sofia to begin with considering his background is even more interesting. But hey, that’s neither here nor there so on with the show. Now Jon Voight’s character known as The Voice is neither here nor there also. Jon could have easily phoned in that performance . . . it was that simple. He does get to show off his German roots with his accent and even letting out an authentic scheizie. This is only Director Courtney Solomon’s third major motion picture direction and it shows. His intentions were good but the movie as a whole is a little rough. If you are inclined to see this film in the theater, do it at your own risk and expect no more than some eye candy and car chases.

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