Box Office Review - A Perfect Getaway

With the Internet having a plethora of movie information, rarely do I see a movie that I know little about. A Perfect Getaway is one of those rare movies. I am very glad that this happened as this film is the best surprise of the summer.

Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn) and Mila Jovovich (Resident Evil) are hiking to a remote beach in Hawaii for their honeymoon. After a run in with a couple of hitchhikers played by Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) and Marley Shelton (Planet Terror) they make it to the trail. Here they meet Timothy Olyphant (Live Free or Die Hard) who invites them to camp with him and his girlfriend. They run into some other hikers who tell them that there was a brutal murder of some newlyweds committed by a man and a woman on the island. The killers have yet to be caught. After meeting up with Olyphant’s girlfriend played by Kiele Sanchez (Lost) the hitchhikers from before appear again. Tension rises as suspicions grow about who the killers might be.

This is a fairly simple story, but it is told extremely well. The movie is very aware of how audiences perceive thrillers and they don’t shy away from anything. Steve Zahn’s character is a screen writer and there is lots of talk about story structure and having a good twist in your story. This makes for interesting dialogue scenes which there are a lot of. The script is very strong so it is great listening into the conversations. It also helps that these long dialogue scenes are set in very beautiful locations. The film takes place in Hawaii but was filmed in Peurto Rico. The beaches and waterfalls that are shown would be worth getting killed for. All the dialogue gives lots of time for tension building and by the third act it was hard to know what would happen. This was directed by David Twohy who wrote such films as Waterworld and The Fugitive and also wrote and directed Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. A Perfect Getaway is without a doubt his best film. All the actors worked well together and the relationships where great contrasts to each other. It was funny suspenseful and in the end a very enjoyable experience. It is nice to be surprised by a film.

A Gold Banana