A Perfect Getaway

The second half of the film seemed weaker due to weird pointless dialogue, and the ending had a similar effect on me. It’s a shame. The first half of the film had a great atmosphere of paranoia. The fast action scenes that followed undid everything that the script had previously carefully built up. Gina, who can take care of herself in case of danger according to Nick, gave me the impression that if she got a gun to defend herself, she would probably throw it at the aggressor and run off to the jungle. (07/12/2016)

Up until now, this film had passed me by from quite a distance. After watching it, that fact really stings. A very likable cast with a tightly written story and a script without holes? That already indicates that viewers won’t be bored. And I definitely wasn’t—on the contrary, I was royally entertained. The first half-hour serves as a nice introduction, and even in those moments, I was already trying to guess which couple would end up being the killers. The story ran like clockwork, and the tension thickened with every passing minute, which is exactly what you want. I also want to praise the chosen setting because the Hawaiian Islands, with their beautiful nature, worked perfectly as a contrast to the chilling atmosphere. Steve Zahn is usually a comedic actor for me, but the fact that he played a meth-addicted, murderous maniac so well? I wouldn’t have expected that from him. The rest of the cast also did their part as they should. The last 15 minutes were full of heart-stopping moments where you were really rooting for the "normal" couple to make it to the end unscathed. For a smaller budget, this was a fantastic result. More films like this, please. I give it 79%. (30/05/2017)

Such a stylish twist occurred to me long ago and I’m glad that somebody (Twohy) finally managed to get it into such a well-cast movie. That foxy Milla got to me again, back in great form after having a baby and the snappy-tongued Timothy “American Jedi" Olyphant who surprisingly often grabs all the attention for himself. Kiele Sanchez from Lost was just made for this type of movie and it was good to see tough guy Chris Hemsworth, who convinced me that he really does have the balls for Thor. And otherwise... wonderful landscapes, but that is somehow expected from this kind of movie. (24/10/2009)

Quite solid, until the awkward and jaded twist, the audience doesn't know who is who and what is what. Unfortunately, the final action-packed 20 minutes completely destroyed my positive opinion of this film. The natural setting is good, and so is the work with it. The performances are decent, especially Timothy Olyphant, who is quite sharp. However, as I already mentioned, the twist is absolutely pointless. (02/01/2010)

A very pleasant surprise. It’s true that the beginning (i.e. the first hour) could be a lot faster or shorter, but it’s not boring for a second. Likeable characters, a beautiful landscape and fun dialogues, those are the main reasons why I didn’t have any problem with this film and its initial slow pace. The last twenty minutes are brilliant, fast and tense, with a gimmick here and there, like slow motion preceding fast motion. The only flaw in this otherwise perfect thriller are those ten minutes of exposition that may be justified, but up until then the viewer is led by the nose and this scene comes right when the film starts gaining speed, so it’s hard not to look forward to the end of that explanation. Very good summer thriller. 7/10 (18/10/2009)