People's tastes and morals change through time and this is reflected in the world of cinema. One of good examples of that phenomenon could be found in The Getaway, 1994 action thriller directed by Roger Donaldson. Since this film, based on the novel by Jim Thompson, happened to be rather faithful remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1972 classic starring legendary Steve McQueen (and screenplay happened to be co-written by Walter Hill, writer of 1972 original), comparing the critics' reactions to two films could give an interesting insight into differences between 1970s and 1990s cultural values.
The plot deals with "Doc" McCoy (played by Alec Baldwin), professional criminal and security systems expert, who got arrested during his last job and ended in Mexican prison. In order to arrange his release, he asks his attractive wife Carol (played by Kim Basinger) to negotiate with influential businessman Jack Benyon (played by James Woods) who could get him out in exchange for his professional services. The deal goes through and "Doc" is released, only to take part in spectacular heist. But this is only the beginning of "Doc"'s problems - he must deal with the fact that Carol paid for his freedom with her body, as well with the partners who are about to double-cross him.
The 1972 original, while not being considered as a masterpiece, is viewed as a stylish piece of cinema and example of two Hollywood legends at their best. 1994 version, despite sharing the same plot, same kind of characters and most of the same content, was attacked for being sexist, violent and having totally amoral characters without any redeeming quality. Truth to be told, 1994 version of The Getaway is indeed worse than the original, mainly because Roger Donaldson can't walk in Peckinpah's shoes, same as Alec Baldwin can't match McQueen's charisma. On the other hand, couple of supporting actors are more than decent in the roles, especially James Woods as creepy crime lord and Michael Madsen in another incarnation as psychopathic goon. The action scenes are also very well-executed, unlike "steamy" and controversial sex scenes between "Doc" and Carol (injected in the script in order to give extra publicity). However, despite its limitations, this film is more than watchable and could provide a lot of entertainment to those viewers undeterred by its undeserved reputation.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on July 31st 2002)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/2087-the-getaway?language=en-US Critic: AA
