Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A PERFECT GETAWAY movie review


A Perfect Getaway

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Kiele Sanchez

Running time: 98 minutes

Year: 2009

Directed By: David Twohy

Written By: David Twohy


A Perfect Getaway is a story of a newlywed couple embarking on their Honeymoon. Travelling to Hawaii to spend the first two weeks together of the rest of their lives really is the perfect getaway, however we all know that this title definitely has a sense of irony to it, and so does the entirety of the movie. The story then follows the newlyweds trekking across a trail to a beach on one of the islands off Hawaii. In the news it has been broadcast that a man and a woman are the two main suspects of murdering a newlywed couple on the main land of Hawaii and it is believed they have fled to the islands. As the couple on their Honeymoon (Zahn and Jovovich) venture through the jungle, they meet another two couples who seem seriously suspicious and the question raises; are one of these the killers? Both have the perfect persona to be a killer. One couple (Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) are intrigued by weapons in which they carry. He is a former SAS soldier and was one of the first men in Iraq. Also as his girlfriend call him, 'is impossible to kill.' The other couple are a pair of hippies (Chris Hemsworth and Marley Shelton); with the husband's temper being something to watch out for. Both sets of couples are suspicious in their own way and the newlyweds must choose whether to confront or run.

The opening half of the film is tense. We follow Zahn and Jovovich, who seem smitten and unsure of what they are really doing. Once they meet Hemsworth's couple we realise not all is what it seems and when they meet Olyphant's couple we begin to feel as tense as Zahn does around his character. The tension when asking yourself which ones are the killers could be cut with a knife, and you will second guess yourself until the reveal comes in; however when it does the film rapidly falls downhill. For starters it is a little predictable albeit delivered in an original way, and we rarely see one of the couples so it seems odd that they are potential suspects when we never really see them.

I won't tell you who the couple turns out to be but all I can tell you is it seems a bit odd and as if the writer has tried too hard. We definitely know they have when once the reveal takes place we are treated to ten minutes of black and white exposition that explains everything that happened before this pivotal moment. It is as if we could never have worked it out ourselves. Also when we find out who the mysterious couple are, we see a strange betrayal right at the end which doesn't really seem in place. The last half hour becomes slightly silly and this ruins the good tense opening of the film.

The acting isn't bad in the film. Zahn plays the same character as usual and Jovovich doesn't really have much to act for. Olyphant is a huge potential who seems to have gone downhill since his excellent turn in Die Hard 4 and Chris Hemsworth is not in it enough to really rate him, this was actually released before he made it fairly big so back then this is probably all he needed, I can't imagine him accepting this role now.

The film isn't bad but it isn't particularly good. The first half is slow but it builds tension and you keep second guessing yourself, however the second half becomes a bit over the top and the reveal isn't particularly shocking enough. The film could have run its course and only ever hinted at the identity of the killers and this could have gave us something to talk about, instead I finished watching it and really didn't care with what had just happened, shame considering the first half of the film. It isn't a film you should expect something really highly from. If you never guessed the reveal then I would think you would like it more than I did, however as soon as I heard this was a film with a twist I found myself guessing it before it began (I've probably ruined it for you too). But I suggest you give it a watch for the great cinematography and the fantastic locations which look absolutely stunning and you wish you could have you own perfect getaway there, albeit not an ironic one.

2.5 / 5

Next film to review: THE FOURTH KIND


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