# Getaway - Blu-ray Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=13810[/img] 
*Title: Getaway* 

*Movie:* :2stars:
*Video:* :4stars:
*Audio:* :4.5stars: 
*Extras:* :1.5stars: 

*HTS Overall Score:*71




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=13811[/img]*Summary*
Who doesn’t like movies about fast cars and car crashes? The “Fast and Furious” series has made some serious moolah on that formula and there’s a ton of other movies out there that have cashed in on the same formula. I also like Ethan Hawke in just about everything he does, so I went into “Getaway” hoping for at least some great car chases. Unfortunately this one was a letdown of epic proportions. With shaky cam and split second editing that never left more than 3 seconds of the same shot on screen at one time, it was a confusing film that really was nothing but a vehicle (excuse the pun) to showcase a cool guy driving around, but the problem was that the cinematography was so shaky and hectic that we couldn’t even get any good chases in either. 

Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) comes home from work one day to find out that his house is in a shambles, his wife, Leanne (Rebecca Budig) has been kidnapped from their home in Bulgaria and he is left with no idea where they are. That all changes when a mysterious voice calls him and instructs Brent to steal a car that is waiting for him in a parking garage and follow instructions if he wants to see his wife again. Agreeing to the terms Brent steals the car and is led on a merry goose chase around town, crashing through marketplaces, tearing up city parks etc. without any seeming pattern. To make matters more confusing this mysterious voice has gotten the owner of the Shelby Silver Snake (a beautiful car by the way) into the same gambit and their two paths converge shortly. This un named owner, just referred to as “Kid” in the film (Selena Gomez) and Brent have to figure out just WHAT this mysterious man wants them to do and why. At first it seems random, but as time progresses it becomes obvious to the Kid that there’s a pattern to their destruction. Exits are being cut off, new paths created, and a single goal becomes clear over time. With that in mind Brent and the Kid have to save Leanne and try and foil a robbery of epic proportions.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=13812[/img]
“Getaway” was good in theory. A washed up race car driver is sent on mysterious missions across the city using an insanely powerful car to crash and race around, gives us plenty of eye candy and exhilarating car chases in theory. I mean, who doesn’t like a good car chase? The problem is that the story is confusing, full of plot holes and about as emotionally charged as a trip to the ice skating rink with your younger brothers the night of an epic party. The villain has no real evil nature to him, just a voice on the other end who’s trying to get a bunch of money. The car chases are split up by horrible editing that confuse and eradicate the viewer’s pleasure from what could have been a fun dumb movie. Instead we have a movie that suffers from a poorly written plot and poor editing, not to mention the fact that Selena Gomes is the most unbelievable hacker in the world. She still looks like she’s 12 years old and is playing a rich, spoiled bankers daughter who can seemingly hack into any system with just an iPad and some wires. (not to mention that fact that her line delivery is so bad that it made me hurt just listening to her







*Rating:* 

Rated PG-13 for intense action, violence and mayhem throughout, some rude gestures, and language


*Video* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=13813[/img]“Getaway” uses a mixture of standard filming techniques, but also it employs the cameras at the front and back and interior of the car giving it a mixed bag for picture quality. The scenes using standard filming techniques are pretty near flawless, with exceptional detail and clarity throughout the scenes. Once it switches to the security camera images then the picture is, as expected from that type of camera, soft, grainy and with drastically inferior colors. This switching between different cameras and styles gives a varying degree of quality and tends to bring the overall score down a little. Still, the colors are solid and the black levels are quite impressive, being that the film is taking place over the course of one night. No black crush in any scenes, that I could see and no digital artifacting either. The color grading was done in a rather drab green and blue overtone, but still there’s some bright blues and greens and reds that shine through the dark surroundings.








*Audio* :4.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=13814[/img]The audio was impressive indeed, probably the most impressive part of the whole film. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is a thunderous one that gives us quite a lot to play with. Surround activity is fantastic as the Shelby Super Snake roars through downtown Sofia at breakneck speeds. The shriek of tires and the crash of a police car fill the entire sound stage and do so with great dynamic range. There are some impressively detailed scenes where you can hear every click and schnick of the gears shifting and even the thud of Selena Gomez’s feet as she steps out of the car is replicated with exquisite detail. With such a track you’d expect a very solid LFE channel and this one does not disappoint. The minute the film started the deep rumble of the Shelby is with us from beginning to end and there’s some very impressive use of LFE during the copious car chases that happen during the film. Dialogue is clean and clear without feeling overwhelmed by the LFE and other effects. Overall a very VERY good track for us audiophiles.



[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=13815[/img]*Extras:* :1.5stars:

• Crash Cams
• Destroying A Custom Shelby
• Metal and Asphalt
• Selena Gomez: On Set
• The Train Station











*Overall:* :3.5stars:


“Getaway” isn’t going to win any awards this year, and for good reason. It seems that it was really a movie where the creators slapped in whatever plot they could to accommodate Ethan Hawke running around and show off the car chases. Devoid of intelligence and plot it is something that’s not a horrifyingly bad movie, but definitely is a chore to sit through. I’d honestly just check it out on Netflix to skim through the film to see some cool car chases and nothing else. It’s been a while, but this one is a definite skip. 


*Additional Information:*

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez
Directed by: Courtney Solomon
Written by: Sean Finegan, Gregg Maxwell Parker
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French ,Spanish, Portuguese DD 5.1
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 90
Blu-Ray Release Date: Nov 26th, 2013
Own "Getaway" on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and HD Digital Download


*Buy Getaway Blu-ray on Amazon*



*Recommendation: Skip It​*







More about Mike


----------



## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks for the review Mike!

I wonder if this film was meant to be a vehicle to separate Gomez from her child star roles. If so, it sounds like it falls flat there. Too bad - I also like Ethan Hawke as an actor, but it is nearly impossible for any actor to save a film from bad writing / directing...


----------



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

ALMFamily said:


> Thanks for the review Mike!
> 
> I wonder if this film was meant to be a vehicle to separate Gomez from her child star roles. If so, it sounds like it falls flat there. Too bad - I also like Ethan Hawke as an actor, but it is nearly impossible for any actor to save a film from bad writing / directing...


I'm not sure its working. She looks like a child still and she tried the coming out thing with "spring breakers" and that didn't go so well for her


----------



## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

Thanks for the review Mike. I rented this one thinking it was another movie like "Drive" with Ryan Gossling or Ryan O'Neal in "The Driver". Way off on both counts. I didn't mind the shaky Cam or the lack of an unknown/unseen bad guy, what killed this one for me was Selena Gomez and her poor line delivery and her improbable & unbelievable Elite Hacker/Auto Customizer persona.


----------



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

yeah, I'm all for suspension of disbelief in the ludicrous (look at the "Fast and Furious" series).... but Selena Gomez just CAN'T pull it off


----------



## snowmanick (Oct 16, 2007)

Mike Edwards said:


> yeah, I'm all for suspension of disbelief in the ludicrous (look at the "Fast and Furious" series).... but Selena Gomez just CAN'T pull it off


This is one of the reasons I just can't bring myself to see this film. The bass is supposed to be nuts, I generally like Ethan Hawke films, and I am a giant Mustang nut, but I can't watch the Chipmunk.


----------



## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Thanks for the review Mike, and saving me from buying this train wreck. I hate the shaky cam stuff.


----------



## Bodyslam (Feb 22, 2015)

I was disappointed to see that this review was NOT of "The Getaway," one of two Steve McQueen films directed by Sam Peckinpah. I hope to see that one get reviewed some day, now that it's out on Blu-Ray.


----------



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

Bodyslam said:


> I was disappointed to see that this review was NOT of "The Getaway," one of two Steve McQueen films directed by Sam Peckinpah. I hope to see that one get reviewed some day, now that it's out on Blu-Ray.


lol, yeah, a biiiiiiiiiiiiit different. with the Peckinpah one being the better movie obviously


----------

