The summer movie season always leaves just enough room for one completely brainless thriller.
“A Perfect Getaway” fills up that space, a respectable B-movie that holds your interest until a twist that tortures all forms of logic like a terrorist being grilled by Jack Bauer.
What could be better during the dog days of summer?
Milla Jovovich and Steve Zahn star as newlyweds ready for romance in Honolulu. They’re deliriously in love, but their high spirits sink when they learn some fellow newlyweds were recently murdered near their vacation spot.
The suspects, a man and wife tag team, are still on the loose. So wouldn’t you know our newlyweds run into not one but two couples who easily could be the killers.
Talking about red herrings, or “red snappers,” as one of the possible suspects (played by Timothy Olyphant) claims the saying goes.
Olyphant’s character, Nick, and his carefree galpal (Kiele Sanchez) quickly bond with the newlyweds despite their suspicions. Nick is a hoot, a former Special Ops soldier, or so he claims, who has an amazing survival story for every occasion.
Once the twist is revealed, “Getaway” goes into over-explaining overdrive, but it still doesn’t make much sense.
The unconventional casting separates the film from other thrillers. Who would think to pair indie stalwart Zahn with kick arse action heroine Jovovich?
And can someone please write a good movie for Olyphant? The man’s charisma and screen presence are being squandered in fare squarely beneath him.
The final moments here are pure hooey, loaded with silly dialogue, nonsensical behavior and , without doubt, the best unintentional laugh of the year.
“A Perfect Getway” is perfectly acceptable escapism if you don’t mind being mentally insulted by the final reel.
(Photo: Milla Jovovich takes matters into her own hands in a paradise that becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins in “A Perfect Getaway.” Photo Credit: Javier Pesquera /Rogue Pictures)
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Are the main characters the killers? That was my first thought when I saw the preview for the first time.
You don’t expect me to spoil the ending, do you?
You can tell me tonight.
“Arse”? Are you coming down with a case of Anglophilia?
Actually, Milla Jovovich has been an “indie stalwart” for pretty much her entire career, including between action movies. In fact, most of those action movies are themselves (at least technically) indies.
I strive not to cuss here, JIC, so ‘arse’ seemed a slightly better fit!
You mean that the “ass” in “kick-ass” doesn’t mean donkey? I’m shocked and appalled!