A Perfect Getaway

Release Date: August 7th, 2009

Click Here for the A Perfect Getaway Trailer.

Cliff Anderson(Steve Zahn) and his newlywed wife Cydney(Milla Jovovich) are enjoying their honeymoon by backpacking across one of Hawaii's islands to a beautiful remote beach said to be heaven on earth. While hiking the two come across a group of girls on vacation who were talking about two other newlyweds that were murdered on the island. Unsure about whether or not to continue, the two decide that they will continue their trip because the murders were on a different island.

While on the trail, Cliff and Cydney come across Nick(Timothy Olyphant), a supposed former Special Forces Operative and Iraq War Veteran, and his girlfriend Gina(Kiele Sanchez). The four decide to team up and hike together considering they are headed for the same place but as the trip goes on the threat of the escaped killers grows heavier. Before long Cliff and Cydney become paranoid and start to think that anybody could be the killers, even Nick and Gina.

While the group is relaxing at a waterfall, Cliff finds a backpack belonging to a girl named Cleo(Marley Shelton). Cleo and her newlywed husband Kale(Chris Hemsworth) were hitchhiking along the road and were almost picked up by Cliff and Cydney who decided not to give them a ride after they felt threatened by Kale. Between Kale and Cleo and Nick and Gina, Cliff and Cydney's paranoia becomes almost too much to bear as the next murder could happen at any moment.

When I first heard about this movie I thought it looked pretty interesting. I appeared to be a somewhat thrilling movie and the proposal of an interesting twist made it sound worth watching. I enjoy movies that have exciting plots and interesting twists. This movie was good for what it was worth but isn't going to be one of those movies "you have to see".

The plot of newlyweds on their honeymoon in the same place where somebody just killed two newlyweds is an interesting and potentially exciting concept. It makes you wonder whether or not the killers are specifically targeting newlyweds or just kill for the fin of it. I sometimes find thrillers like this to be somewhat dull or unimaginative and even lacking substance. However, this movie fared better than most movies of its kind. The story and writing was entertaining and it didn't feel cheesy or like the director was trying to get cheap laughs from you. I found the movie to keep me interested and entertained the whole time and I was even excited to see how it ended.

With movies that boast exciting plot twists or surprise endings, I get a little excited. I really love things that keep me guessing or surprise me though a lot of the time I find myself figuring out the twist before the end of the movie and while it doesn't ruin it, it does put a little bit of a damper on things. That is kind of what happened with this movie. I was able to figure out the main twist in the film fairly early on but I was still interested to see how it played out in the rest of the film. But one thing that did get me was the very end of the film. I was not expecting how the climax was going to play out and I can honestly say I did not see it coming.

Acting is always an important part of a movie. I am a big fan of Steve Zahn and have enjoyed many of the movies I have seen him in. I thought he did a great job in this film portraying the mild-mannered screenwriter character of "Cliff". He brought his notable humor into the role but also added some intense drama and other acting styles which we do not typically get to see out of him. Overall I was pleased with Zahn's performance. Timothy Olyphant was also really good. I loved how he played the slightly crazy war veteran. He really made you believe that his time in the service made him the way he was. Milla Jovovich, who we have seen in big action movies like Resident Evil, was able to step away from her fighting style that we are used to to become the timid and love-crazy newlywed Cydney. I thought all the actors in this film performed well and gave believable performances.

Because this movie was a psychological thriller, it had some action in it. Nearly all of the action took place in the climax at the end of the film when you finally figure out who the killers are. These scenes left me on the edge of my seat as I had no idea how it would play out and some parts even left my shocked saying to myself "whoa, didn't expect that". But the main part of the story that was good was the build up. Throughout the whole movie you sit there and wonder what's going to happen next and who the real killers are and if anybody will make it out alive.

Overall A Perfect Getaway was a good movie. It wasn't great, spectacular or amazing but it was still worth seeing. In my recommendation this one is a good one to go and rent from your local video store on a rainy or lay day when you just want to relax or a good one to watch with a group of friends.

I give A Perfect Getaway 7 Newlywed Murders out of 10