Mustangs in the Movies: “Getaway”
Yes, the premise sounds like it was conceived by someone on meth, but at least you know from the get-go that Getaway is basically just Shelby-porn anyway.
Just take a look at the opening seconds of the trailer below, featuring that most beautiful of serpentine logos situated front and center on the passenger-side headrest. That well-placed product placement is only usurped when director Courtney Solomon pans out to reveal a 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 Super Snake just rearing to go. And go she does, as the film is essentially just one long car chase. Now, if that were all that happened, we’re pretty sure it’d be a better movie than one interjecting such a ridiculous plot and an even more ridiculous Selena Gomez.
Here’s what passes for a premise in this apparently scriptless film: Ethan Hawke plays Brett Magna, a former racecar driver whose wife gets kidnapped by a guy known only as “The Voice,” who forces Brett to steal said sick ride and go on some wild goose chase where he needs to pick up “The Kid,” played by Gomez, who may or may not own the car … honestly, it’s impossible, and pretty much irrelevant anyway, considering the performance of the Shelby, who acts donuts around her Disney-trained castmate.
The “script” initially called for another vehicle, but Solomon insisted on the 725-horsepower silver Snake. And you can tell it’s a love affair, as the internal-combustion-powered serpent is shot from every conceivable angle, including cameras mounted all over her body, ostensibly to fortify the idea that Magna’s every move is being watched, but really just a revved-up way to see the Shelby in action. With absolutely no CGI used in the film, the result is 100-percent American Muscle flexing.
While it’s not Hawke’s finest acting moment, we have to give a hat-tip to him for doing as much of the driving work as the producers would let him. And he certainly looks comfy behind the wheel of a Mustang, perhaps because he’s owned one or two himself, including a 1968 GT Fastback like the one used in Bullitt.
While the ’68 and Bullitt are both classics, and the 2008 Silver Snake is bound to be one, Getaway likely won’t go down in history as a great movie, though it is a great car movie.