Anyone who has seen the commercial knows that A Perfect Getaway does not depict the kind of vacation experience that would be featured on the Travel Channel. Newlyweds Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) think they are about to have the honeymoon of their dreams. They arrive on one of the most remote and picturesque islands of Hawaii for three days of lounging on the beach and hiking the secluded trails. When they stumble upon a group of teenaged hikers discussing the recent murder of a newlywed couple, they begin to get nervous. They immediately suspect a strange couple that they came across earlier in the day hitchhiking may be the murderers. Cliff & Cydney find some comfort and fun hiking with another couple they meet along the trail, Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez). Nick is ex-military and has all kinds of strange survival stories. When he slaughters a goat and Gina skins it, Cliff & Cydney begin to suspect their new friends may be the killers. But with nowhere to go, the couples must hike together to civilization, and the hitchhikers may be following them. The last couple of miles become the longest miles, as the trip quickly becomes a literal fight for survival.
A Perfect Getaway is a modern “B-movie”. It doesn’t try to be great cinema, but simply entertain an audience for approximately 90 minutes. The movie does have a few thrills and surprises. The problem is that it takes too long to get going, and the surprises aren’t really that surprising. When the characters define the term “red herring” for the audience it’s a dead giveaway that things are not quite as they seem. I expected the film to have some scary scenes, but it’s strictly a thriller. The actors do a commendable job in what they surely looked at as an easy paycheck. The audience at the screening did seem to enjoy the film more than I did, but I can’t recommend spending the money to see this in the theater. It’s an average film, best viewed at home on DVD.
No comments:
Post a Comment