The Getaway

I have been doing a Roger Donaldson binge this weekend, it all started with a cheesy volcano movie by director Donalsdon that had no pretentions of being anything else but family entertainment and I like that attitude. Only with those movies that take themselves too seriously I get irritated easily, but director Roger Donaldson knows how to make fun and suspenseful action movies for the masses. He has no pretentions. Donaldson's movies are what they are. Simply that. You get what you ask for. He also made "Cocktail" and "No Way Out" with Tom Cruise. That will give you a good idea what you can expect: sometimes cheesy, but always entertaining. Sometimes soft, sometimes hardcore. This flick is no disney action, but it aint Tarantino either. Middle of the road kind of action, but good enough.

"The Getaway" is a heist movie with a criminal couple on the run from other criminals that want their stolen money back. As simple as that, but executed very well. Not superb, but just very well. That suffices for me. Ideal for a saturday night flick of which I ask nothing else but simple entertainment for guys who wanna watch action.

The criminal couple on the run are being played by the butch Alex Baldwin and the lovely Kim Basinger. I dont like cheesy sex scenes in action movies, but for those who do, Kim Basinger has some pretty revealing nude scenes in it, no wonder, her being the sex bomb of the nineties, in which period she went naked in almost EVERY movie. She is still a good actress though, really, I say that without irony, personally I feel that the sex scenes only slow the heist and pursuit scenes down.

Anyways, as I said before this movie is made for the masses, so dont expect originality. But it has everything one could wish for to be just entertained: violence, suspense, action, sex and some great sick jokes. Just great action flick for guys.

The action scenes are top notch. Maybe I'm just a sucker for colorful characters and the bank heist angle is well done. Best of all is Alec Baldwin's character, Doc. Baldwin and the rest of the cast really deliver their lines with panache.

Bank jobs, car chase, cat-and-mouse in a four story hotel, steamy sex, crazy characters.... what else do you want?

Way back when, pulp novelist genius Jim Thompson wrote "The Getaway." It was about a man and a woman who teamed up to rob. It has been filmed twice. About 12 people argue on IMDb about which is the better version. I am one of those arguing that the second version is better.

The first version in 1972 was directed by Sam Peckinpah and had a stellar (at the time) cast including Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw. It was directed by Sam Peckinpah. Among the character actors were legends Al Letteiri, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers and Slim Pickens.

There is no doubt this is an outstanding movie.

Here's the big difference -- Ali McGraw Vs. Kim Basinger. Kim B. blows Ali M. out of the water. Seriously, the whole contest rides on this and Kim so totally takes charge in the second movie there is no competition.

I won't talk about the sex scene between Kim and Alec Baldwin, who is her husband. Why? They deserve their privacy. Even though we saw ... lots.

Bottom line: This movie requires a tough broad. Ali McGraw? Fugeddabout it! No way. Kim, you relentless female tough woman, you rule here.

Kim Basinger? This is a woman who does not look ridiculous handling a nine. But she's also vulnerable in the back of a garbage truck. Alec, you are one lucky guy.

And, Richard Farnsworth has the role that Slim Pickens played in the original. Tough call. I say equal props.

Bottom line? The remake has more ... coolness. 'Nuff said.

Roger Donaldson's remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1972 gangster movie classic "The Getaway" is alright, but cannot - as many remakes - reach the power, humor and style of the original version. There are some plus points - the bloody and lengthened showdown in the hotel at the end tries to overpower the impact of the original version, and it works.

There are some good supporting roles from James Woods and Michael Madsen (with dreadful hair style that belongs rather into an Ace Ventura or Wayne's World movie). The plot, even many story details, are just repetitions of the Peckinpah movie, but the tempo of the film is okay as well.

Otherwise there are also too many low points: the score is boring and can't compete with Quincy Jones' original jazz funk fusion grooves. The photography is to clean despite all the Mexican dust and sometimes too MTV style and without the dirty atmosphere that was typical for many Peckinpah movies.

Kim Basinger is alright in the Ali McGraw role, but Alec Baldwin is trying too hard to copy an image of Steve McQueen which isn't working at all. The dialogues aren't as witty as with McQueen and McGraw, and Donaldson would have done a far better job if he could have managed to give an individual life to this picture instead of just doing a 1994 techno grunge remix of an early seventies classic.

Anyway, if you like to watch an entertaining contemporary gangster and road movie, the 1993 version of "The Getaway" is still fun to watch. But if you have the choice to take the original VHS or DVD, skip the remake.

The Getaway is a remake of the action classic that stared Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw. Now I haven't seen the original so I can't compare the two but by it self this is an OK action thriller. It goes old school with its desert/western setting, bad criminals and finale stand off. The story is simple Doc McCoy (Alec Baldwin), his wife (Kim Basinger) and his partner (Michael Madsen) are hired to get a man out of prison. When the job goes sour, McCoy is locked up for a year in a Mexican prison. With the help of his wife and a Phoenix crime boss Jack Benyon (James Woods), he released and hired to do one more job. This job goes semi good but after it has been done many people end up dead and the McCoys are on the run from many different people all with their eyes on the large amount of cash they have. The performances are OK. Baldwin is the American version of Pierce Brosnan. He's much more calm, composed and edgier than Pierce. Basinger is tough yet still has that soft side and she very good with guns. Madsen is a good mix with Baldwin and Basinger, he add the funny but villainous third part of the gang. The cast is bigger than normal for an action film but since this was made in the early ‘90's some of the actors hadn't hit it big yet. Jennifer Tilly, Phillip Seymore Hoffman and David Morse round out the cast. They all have small parts but they do the best with what they have. The action is not really original and there are a few Woo slow-motion shots thrown in for good measure. There's only one explosion but a lot of guns. In the end The Getaway is an OK action movie that if it's on TV it would be enjoyable to watch, if there's nothing better on.