The Getaway

Directed by Roger Donaldson, The Getaway follows Alec Baldwin’s Doc and Kim Basinger’s Carol as they’re forced to go on the run after a heist orchestrated by James Woods’ Jack Benyon goes seriously awry. Filmmaker Donaldson, working from Walter Hill and Amy Jones’ script, delivers a mostly engrossing thriller that benefits from its briskly-paced narrative and proliferation of solid performances, and there’s little doubt, as well, that The Getaway‘s engaging atmosphere is heightened by an ongoing emphasis on exciting, absorbing sequences and interludes – with, for example, the aforementioned heist packing an unexpectedly tense punch that also (and effectively) lays the groundwork for a propulsive midsection and second half. Baldwin and Basinger’s magnetic efforts here go a long way towards perpetuating the compulsively watchable vibe, to be sure, while Donaldson does a nice job of eliciting scene-stealing work from such entertaining periphery players as Michael Madsen, David Morse, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Richard Farnsworth. (The latter’s all-too-brief turn as a friendly cowboy ensures that the movie concludes on an appealing, agreeably lighthearted note.) And although the 116 minute runtime does result in a small handful of lulls (and prevents the climax from possessing the taut feel one might’ve anticipated), The Getaway nevertheless (and predominantly) comes off as a top-tier thriller that ultimately fares even better than Sam Peckinpah’s original film.

*** out of ****