I rented A Perfect Getaway last week expecting a mildly entertaining thriller. I didn't have high expectations. Just a solid three star generally mediocre movie. But A Perfect Getaway couldn't even live up to that. Why? Because of a ridiculous plot twist and horrible directing.
Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich play Cliff and Cydney, a newlywed couple on their honeymoon in beautiful Hawaii. As they get set to embark on a three day hike to a famous and secluded beach, they find out that another newlywed couple has been brutally murdered on Oahu and the police think the killers (a couple) have fled to their area. Along the trail, Cliff and Cydney meet a series of couples, each more creepy than the last, leaving Cliff and Cydney to wonder who the killers are. Eventually they decide to team up with Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez, but they seem creepier by the minute, so perhaps that wasn't the best choice.
Speaking of Olyphant, are we sure that he isn't the same person as Josh Duhamel? Because I'm not convinced. But I digress. With the mystery of "which couple is the killer?" you'd think that this "thriller" might be, you know, thrilling. But it wasn't. Not one bit. Just some hiking, brief interactions with superficially creepy couples, and more hiking. No suspenseful moments. No real conflicts. Just hiking, talking, and more hiking.
You knew there had to be a plot twist coming, because otherwise this would have been the most boring thriller ever. Trouble was, when the twist came, it seemed forced and not at all believable. I won't spoil who the killers are, but needless to say that the fact that they are the killers contradicts earlier parts of the movie, and that upset me greatly. A plot twist of the magnitude that this film tried to pull off requires a great attention to detail -- think of something like The Sixth Sense. When you find out that Bruce Willis is dead, at first you think "NO WAY!" but when you start to think about it you realize that he never talked to anyone other than the little kid and the other characters never acknowledged him, and you realize how perfectly the twist worked. In this case you think back to earlier dialogue and realize that either 1) that dialogue never happened (which doesn't make any sense) or 2) said characters are so crazy that said dialogue did happen (which, in context, also doesn't make any sense). Also annoying is that after the plot twist is revealed, the director goes back and tells the applicable back story in a choppy/black and white style that came off as a film school project gone bad.
By the time the plot was resolved I was happy -- not at how things were resolved, just happy that the movie was over.
Verdict: Barely two stars. Steve Zahn, you disappoint me.
Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich play Cliff and Cydney, a newlywed couple on their honeymoon in beautiful Hawaii. As they get set to embark on a three day hike to a famous and secluded beach, they find out that another newlywed couple has been brutally murdered on Oahu and the police think the killers (a couple) have fled to their area. Along the trail, Cliff and Cydney meet a series of couples, each more creepy than the last, leaving Cliff and Cydney to wonder who the killers are. Eventually they decide to team up with Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez, but they seem creepier by the minute, so perhaps that wasn't the best choice.
Speaking of Olyphant, are we sure that he isn't the same person as Josh Duhamel? Because I'm not convinced. But I digress. With the mystery of "which couple is the killer?" you'd think that this "thriller" might be, you know, thrilling. But it wasn't. Not one bit. Just some hiking, brief interactions with superficially creepy couples, and more hiking. No suspenseful moments. No real conflicts. Just hiking, talking, and more hiking.
You knew there had to be a plot twist coming, because otherwise this would have been the most boring thriller ever. Trouble was, when the twist came, it seemed forced and not at all believable. I won't spoil who the killers are, but needless to say that the fact that they are the killers contradicts earlier parts of the movie, and that upset me greatly. A plot twist of the magnitude that this film tried to pull off requires a great attention to detail -- think of something like The Sixth Sense. When you find out that Bruce Willis is dead, at first you think "NO WAY!" but when you start to think about it you realize that he never talked to anyone other than the little kid and the other characters never acknowledged him, and you realize how perfectly the twist worked. In this case you think back to earlier dialogue and realize that either 1) that dialogue never happened (which doesn't make any sense) or 2) said characters are so crazy that said dialogue did happen (which, in context, also doesn't make any sense). Also annoying is that after the plot twist is revealed, the director goes back and tells the applicable back story in a choppy/black and white style that came off as a film school project gone bad.
By the time the plot was resolved I was happy -- not at how things were resolved, just happy that the movie was over.
Verdict: Barely two stars. Steve Zahn, you disappoint me.
This is sad news, A Perfect Getaway was on my watch list.
Posted by: Elaine | February 01, 2010 at 04:47 PM