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Health & Fitness

Movie Review - Getaway

Getaway *½ (PG-13) In two words - stay away!

Still reading? OK. Faithful readers deserve more of an explanation. Generally, when actors display range from role to role, that’s considered a good thing. Versatility is one of the criteria for excellence, as opposed to the luck of an innate persona that just happens to appeal to audiences whenever they see it. But Ethan Hawke obviously missed the "quality" element of that equation. So when he follows the intelligence and substance of his character opposite Julie Delpy in Before Midnight (and its two worthy predecessors) with a hokey psuedo-action flick like this one, the assumption is that he’s more motivated by cash flow than career breadth.

Hawke plays a disgraced auto racer named Brent Magna (cheesy enough for ya? ) who is coerced ala one of the Speed movies into boosting and driving a teched-up Shelby GT through a night of absurd chases and crashes around Sofia, Bulgaria, as part of a ridiculously complicated heist. The caper makes either version of The Italian Job look as simple as a purse-snatching. The car carnage is exciting for a while, but wears thin long before the finish. Selena Gomez does little for her nascent film career as his equally unwilling and unbelievable, but far more annoying, fellow passenger. Instead of another Fast & Furious, we’re served Loud & Ludicrous. (8/30/13)

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