A Perfect Getaway

Reviewed by Martin Tsai
A whodunit involving a pair of serial killers preying on honeymooners in Hawaii, A Perfect Getaway has its fair share of requisite plot twists. But the biggest surprise in store is perhaps that the flick turns out to be pretty decent after getting off to a rocky start. Writer-director David Twohy reveals early on that this is a Scream-esque meta-movie, indirectly cautioning filmgoers about the red herring to come via Steve Zahn’s character – who is conveniently a screenwriter. Couple tongue-in-cheek smugness with exotic locales, a corny soundtrack and scantily-clad Milla Jovovich and Timothy Olyphant, and the film might well have your eyeballs rolling.
After the telegraphed mindfuck finally takes place, A Perfect Getaway jettisons any pretensions and basks in its B-movie trashiness, recalling Wild Things without completely going bonkers like Orphan. Twohy daringly cuts away from the climax to some expository stuff, and it works miraculously to shift point of view and spectator identification in the third act. Come to think of it, the film has a plethora of logistical holes, but none are gaping enough to distract from the manipulations that Twohy has promised from the get-go.
© Copyright 2009 Martin Tsai. All rights reserved.