A Perfect Getaway
Review - Kathryn Ryan for The Mungles on Movies
Life gets tough. We work hard at our jobs; we come home to noisy houses, and don't get nearly as much sleep as we should. Everybody needs a break; a time to relax and spend some time enjoying life and not working so hard. But with every vacation there is that story, the one we tell friends and family. This story is about how even though the trip we went on was great, something disastrous happened. Luggage was lost in the bottomless shuffle of airline baggage. Or the time it rained like a monsoon the day fishing was planned, and so on and so forth. Everyone's stories might seem horrible at the time, but you laugh about it later. With the movie A Perfect Getaway, this is not the case in any way shape or form. The characters in this movie would rather have all their belongings taken and have it rain everyday for the next five years than go through what they went through during those 97 minutes.
The plot is simple in design. A newlywed couple named Cliff and Cydney. They decide for their honeymoon to visit a small Hawaiian island and hike for a few days. Along the trail the couple find out that insane ruthless killers are murdering young couples on the island. After meeting some other shady pairs along the trail, Cliff and Cydney are looking behind their back at every turn and wondering who to trust and who is behind the sick murders.
A Perfect Getaway is what it is. The plot is decent and has some wonderful shocking moments that really make your heart beat faster. Aside from those select moments, this film assumes that the audience will buy anything that they are selling, and there comes a point during the movie where you want to turn to the director, David Twohy, and say, "no thank you sir". With the plot lacking a good luster, the acting takes a surprising turn for the better. Timothy Olyphant who plays a military vet who is hiking the trail with his girlfriend does an awesome job with his role. He completely owns it, you don't doubt anything he says, and he makes you want to know what happens next. It is good to see actors like Olyphant take center stage of an otherwise okay film and take it up a notch.
For anyone who is looking for a fun movie to see with friends, I would recommend A Perfect Getaway. Sometimes you have to do what my drama teacher used to say, "When you enter the theater you must drop all your preconceived notions about the world. Up just might be down in this play. This students, is called Suspended Disbelief." If you are willing to suspend disbelief for this hour and a half, you will have a good time cheering for the good guy and hating the villain.
I give A Perfect Getaway three out of five hatchets. It might stink to have your luggage gone for a couple days or rain to fall for a few hours, but on the bright side, you're not in a suspense film! |
