Great island locations but the story is essentially a...
Two newlyweds (Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich) set out to enjoy their honeymoon hiking the incredibly scenic Kaua'i, Hawaii. Unfortunately they catch word that a crazy murderous couple is on the loose and they become seriously suspicious of other hikers (Timothy Olyphant and Chris Hemsworth, amongst others). Will they escape their honeymoon alive?
"A Perfect Getaway" (2009) is worthwhile if, like me, you enjoy island-adventure movies like "Mysterious Island," "Robinson Crusoe" and "Six Days Seven Nights." The film was shot at Kaua'i, Puerto Rico and Jamaica (the sea cave sequence) and these locations are spectacular.
Also, the character played by Timothy Olyphant and his woman (Kiele Sanchez) are likable and you can't help but start to root for them by the time the third act roles around. Olyphant is "outstanding." Chris Hemsworth (Thor) is also impressive as a grim/laconic badaxx hiker in a glorified cameo. Marley Shelton easily wins the Best Beauty award, but her role is too small and the filmmakers fail to take advantage of her presence.
Everyone knows by now that this is a 'twist' film and consequently the story takes a jarring turn in the final act. I'm not going to spoil it for you if you haven't seen it. I recommend seeing "A Perfect Getaway" if you like island flicks or films with surprising plot twists (or both). See if you can figure out the twist before it happens. I did and will explain below why it was easy. However, let me humbly add that I didn't have it figured out 100%; I just suspected the twist and that's how it turned out.
The film is good for what it is, but there are a couple of things that turned me off. One has to do with the twist, explained below. The other has to do with the film being a whodunit thriller. By it's very nature the story has to cast suspicion on several characters and, as such, they are often portrayed in a negative or weirdo light, which doesn't change until the last act when the real murderers are revealed. In short, there's just too much negative energy amongst the players, but this is somewhat offset by the impressive redemption of a couple of the characters in the third act.
The movie runs 1 hour, 38 minutes.
GRADE: B-
**_SPOILER ALERT_** (Don't read any further unless you've seen the film).
We discover in the third act that the main protagonists played by Zahn & Jovovich are the murderers and that they're actually impostors of a recently murdered newlywed couple. The reasons I was able to figure this out was because (1) I knew beforehand there was going to be a plot twist and so was looking for it and (2) in a murder-twist scenario it's usually the most innocent/vulnerable persons who are guilty (e.g. "Howling V: The Rebirth").
Twist films like this have now become so common that they're no longer even surprising. What would really be refreshing and 'cutting edge' is if the film simply played it straight, i.e. the people we think are the protagonists remain the protagonists throughout and the suspicious/evil people get their comeuppance ("Cape Fear" is a good example).
My problem with the twist is that it makes the whole story a lie -- the very people we come to care about and root for in the first hour end up being despicable criminal scum of the lowest depth (at least Zahn's character anyway) and the suspicious characters that we're led to believe are the murderers wind up being the protagonists we should care about. To the film's credit we DO end up caring about Olyphant's character and his mate by the end of the story.
Yes, I realize that, in a way, the film isn't lying to the viewer once the characters played by Zahn and Jovovich are understood to be the murderers. When this is understood, most (maybe all) of their conversations are authentic as the impostors/killers but not as the innocent newlyweds, if you know what I mean. It's all a matter of perspective. But, still, this doesn't take away from the fact that the viewer has essentially been baited and switched -- the very people we think are the innocent/vulnerable protagonists end up being the guilty/malevolent scum bags. Consequently, the viewer can't help but feel hoodwinked at the climax.
