The Getaway

A fairly by the numbers, predictable heist-gone-wrong thriller. It’s lacking that artistic or creative flourish that could make it more special. What you have here is mostly functional/competent, there are some decent twists and moments of tension. For example, there’s a really nice side story involving Al Lettieri woven into the narrative, which also leads to a great climax. However, the acting, visuals and directing are nothing particularly special, the characters are a bit flat, the pacing is inconsistent and the music is honestly pretty shitty. There are also some directorial and editorial choices that haven’t aged well (e.g. the conductor doesn’t notice a fight on the train? That doesn’t work in the context of a serious thriller from the 70s. All that was lacking from scene was Steve McQueen saying “please don’t wake my friend, he’s dead tired”). I honestly don’t think you need to seek this one out, there are more interesting genre movies from this time period. 5/10

Solid, gritty heist/road movie. Surprising how much of a well fleshed out character and relationship study is buried in this genre thriller. Should've known better I guess, it IS Peckinpah...