Thursday, January 7, 2010

A Perfect Getaway - actually An Entertaining Thriller


If I had to pick a favorite movie genre, it would be the thriller genre. A good thriller has the heart pounding adrenaline rush that you get from a horror flick without the gore and fear, it has the story and performances that you get from a drama, and it usually has the excitement that you get from an action movie. However, it is super hard to make a good thriller. At the very least, a good thriller has to do one of two things. It has to have that moment near the end of the movie where you realize everything you thought you knew, you didn't, and/or it has to keep up the tension and keep you guessing for pretty much the entire movie. These are very difficult tasks because it is hard to create a situation where someone doesn't guess the ending or to create situation after situation that brings the intensity on a constant flow. This movie was able to do both. To a certain extent.

A Perfect Getaway follows three couples: honeymooners Cliff and Cydney (Steve Zahn - Sahara, Saving Silverman & Milla Jovovich - The 5th Element, Resident Evil), lovers Nick and Gina (Timothy Olyphant - Deadwood, Hitman, Catch and Release & Kiele Sanchez - Lost), and newlyweds Kale and Cleo (Chris Hemsworth - Capt. Tiberius Kirk in the new Star Trek & Marley Shelton - Sin City, Planet Terror) on a Hawaiian vacation who discover that psychopaths, a man and a woman, have killed another young couple and are now believed to be on the same secluded island that they are on. All three couples are on a remote trail, hiking to a secluded beach when they find out that the killers are on their island. The tension is created because we don't know which couple are the psychopaths. Cliff and Cydney seem like the all-American, scared, boring couple, or are they? Nick and Gina are a little crazy and free spirited and a little dangerous, but are they killer dangerous? Kale and Cleo seem like crazy killers, but is it really that easy to tell, or do they just look scary?

The film progresses nicely, as the couples try to figure out what's what and who's who. While every scene isn't outwardly tense, there is always this underlying tension. It does a good job of making you wonder what's going to happen next. You really keep questioning yourself as to who the killers are. Not only is the thriller aspect of the movie strong, the scenery and images are beautiful. Its lush and green. There are a lot of shot that look like they were in Jurassic Park and Lost which there should be bc they are filmed in the same locations.

Many of you seasoned movie watchers may be able to figure out the ending pretty easily, but then again maybe you won't. Regardless of whether you figure it out or not, the movie moves at a nice pace and keeps the tension high, and throws just enough at you that you can't be 100% sure that you've figured it out.

And just so you guys don't think I'm that easy to please, I do have a few knocks on this one. One of the characters has a terrible, I mean terrible southern accent (but she's hot so we forgive her). You really question the consistency of some characters. There are some overly dramatic/trying to be intimidating/ trying to be nice parts that while aren't that distracting, you kind of think about afterwards and say "that was a little much."

But over all, I really liked this movie. I was on the edge of my seat (or bed) most of the time. It kept me guessing until the big reveal. It doesn't hurt that the scenery is amazing, and I'm not just talking about the vegetation. Guys, all the girls are hot. But that's neither here nor there. If you like thrillers, or are just in the mood for a good, clever flick, this is a solid rental. Like I said, it has it's flaws, but as movie watching experiences go, this one is a really good one.

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