"A Perfect Getaway" is another entry in the long line of arrogant-tourists-get-taught-a-lesson subgenre of thrillers. Recently, we've seen torture-porn renditions such as "
Turistas" and "Hostel", but the granddaddy of them all may be "Deliverance". When done well, and that 1972 Burt Reynolds squeal-like-a-pig gem certainly was, these films can be amusing and escapist in a we-would-never-make-THAT-mistake kind of way. When they're not so good, they typically devolve into a lot of running and screaming. "Getaway" falls (or maybe it's chased) into the second category. But before it does, it offers some effective paranoid thrills thanks to a game cast and writer-director David Twohy ("
Pitch Black").
In "Getaway", newlyweds Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) decide to honeymoon on a remote Hawaiian beach (the only way in or out is a day's walk or kayak). Early in their adventure, they happen upon two sets of couples: one's instantly suspicious (Marley Shelton and Chris Hemsworth), the other's a little wacky but likeable (Kiele Sanchez and Timothy Olyphant, all but running away with the movie). Then comes the news that a newlywed couple was murdered several days ago in Honolulu. But that's on a different island; what are the chances the murderers would come to this remote location? I think you see where this is going.
Mr. Twohy's script has a winking quality to it. He knows he's pushing our buttons and he knows we want him to. Cliff is a "screenplay writer" and, wouldn't you know it, Mr. Olyphant's Nick took a writing class too. They spend much of the time discussing the three-act structure, plot points and "red snappers", as Nick mistakenly calls "red herrings". Each actor has fun with the trappings of the genre and the tropical locales. Mr. Zahn amps up his nerdy charm and Ms. Jovovich seems to be having a great time not playing a video game heroine. But Mr. Olyphant truly shines as a loose cannon with a plate in his head who may or may not have been to Iraq.
Mr. Twohy knows how to tell a story and feeds the audience just enough information to keep things interesting. There's a genuine sense of paranoia and one full-on jump-from-your-seat scare. Unfortunately, it's all leading up to a "big twist" and, when a twist takes five minutes of flashbacks to explain (well, one to explain, four to justify), it hardly seems worth it. Nevermind the fact that the twist simply doesn't work. Aside from the machinations required to justify the character's actions, it just isn't believable for a minute.
It becomes clear that Mr. Twohy had a gimmick, not a story. As we've seen in countless M. Night Shyamalan films, when you base a movie on a surprise ending, you don't have a movie. During one of many screenwriting conversations in the film, a character correctly points out: "It all starts with story!" Well, yes.
