Getaway is a Wild Ride Gone Awry

Getaway, the new action movie starring Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez, doesn’t have to cut to the chase—it starts with one. The mayhem begins when Brent (Hawke) returns home to find his wife has been abducted. He gets a call from an unidentified man (Jon Voight) who instructs Brent to steal a car and start driving. He does so, hijacking a sweet Shelby Mustang Super Snake that’s been modified to ride like lightning. He peels out of a parking garage and it’s on.

Set in Bulgaria, the film looks great. The location gives it a real exotic feel, but the storyline stalls from the get-go. (It says something that even though this film mostly consists almost exclusively of fast-paced car chase scenes, it’s still a snooze.) Things get slightly more interesting when the Kid (Gomez) tries to take the car from Brent. Turns out, it’s her ride and she’s mad he swiped it. But once Brent fills her in, she wants to take down the bastard set events into motion. Her vengeance grows stronger once she realizes the bad guy wants Brent to do his dirty work and is after the bank her father runs. The Kid turns out to be some kind of cyber genius, however, and it’s not too long before she and Brent are plotting on how they can turn the tables on their mortal enemy.

The movie relentlessly delivers one wild ride after another, resulting in cars flipping upside down and then catching on fire. Brent burns some serious rubber. But Hawke and Gomez have zero chemistry and the action quickly flames out.