Review: The Getaway


Steve McQueen is cool-as-ice ex-con Doc McCoy, who gets right back into the swing of things after his stay in prison, with the help of his wife Ali MacGraw (entirely detached and unendearing throughout the film), who does a ‘deal’ with corrupt but powerful Ben Johnson (a deal her hubby ain’t gonna be too happy about!) who in turn for speeding up his parole, wants Doc to pull off a bank job for him, with a promised half million dollars payout. Johnson’s even nice enough to provide some accomplices for our happy couple; reckless Bo Hopkins, and intensely brooding psycho Al Lettieri. Sally Struthers is hilarious as a kidnapped wife who seems to be enjoying life with her dangerous (but strangely charismatic) captor Lettieri. Dub Taylor plays a shonky landlord, Richard Bright an incompetent thief who tries to pull a fast one on McQueen and MacGraw, and Slim Pickens walks off with the film at the end as an obliging cowpoke.



Taut, violent 1972 Sam Peckinpah (“The Wild Bunch”, “Straw Dogs”, “Major Dundee”) crime flick, is one of McQueen’s better vehicles post-“The Great Escape”, and he’s in fine minimalist form. This guy doesn’t have time to be a nice guy just so you can tell he’s the hero and hey, his wife ain’t no ray of sunshine, so lay off him while he’s driving, OK?. He’s backed by a scene-stealing Lettieri (absolutely chilling) and Pickens, as well as good work by Taylor, Johnson, Bright, Struthers, and Hopkins. MacGraw is entirely empty, bringing the film down from a possible classic status, all on her own. She brings absolutely zero talent or charm or presence to an all-important part. Hey Ali, that’s your real-life lover playing your husband on-screen! Where’s the chemistry? The sparks? Hey, don’t blame Steve, he’s bringing more to the table than you, tenfold!.



Admittedly the scheme McQueen formulates seems a tad overly complex, given it’s just a simple bank job, really. But who noticed this problem on their first viewing of the film? Not me, that’s for sure! Quite exciting action at times, well-directed and a must-see for McQueen and Peckinpah fans (it’s certainly one of the latter’s least pretentious, more straight-forward, action-oriented films). Scripted by Walter Hill, is no muss, no fuss, just like his own action films (“The Warriors”, “Streets of Fire”, “The Driver”) tend to be. Based on a Jim Thompson (“After Dark, My Sweet”, “The Grifters”) novel.



Rating: B-

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