Plot: What’s it about?
Carter “Doc” McCoy (Alec Baldwin) has spent the past year in a Mexican prison, thanks to being double crossed in a criminal enterprise. McCoy has a plan however, as his wife Carol (Kim Basinger) has sought out the assistance of Jack Benyon (James Woods), a powerful criminal kingpin. McCoy hopes that with the help of Benyon, he can get back his freedom and since he has skills that could benefit the crime lord, the plan works. Now out of prison, McCoy has been tasked to pull off a heist for Benyon, one that forces him to work with Rudy Travis (Michael Madsen), the man who double crossed him before. McCoy moves ahead with the heist, but he vows that it will be his final escapade in the crime world. As the pressure mounts, secrets begin to surface and doubts arise, but what will become of Doc and Carol?
If you were to remake a movie, why in the world would you choose one you couldn’t possibly improve upon? The Getaway from 1972 is a great movie, with Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw in front of the camera and Sam Peckinpah behind it. Why in the world someone thought they could take Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger and make a better version of The Getaway, I will never know. This is not the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but it is not good and is a waste of time. The original The Getaway does everything this movie does, only better, so why bother? Baldwin and Basinger are decent here, but there isn’t much spark and neither performance stands out. I just never cared what happened here, as nothing seems to be worth caring about. Not to mention the almost two hour duration, which ensures that while nothing worthwhile happens, at least it unfolds at a slow pace. I cannot recommend this remake to anyone, but I can recommend the original, so seek that movie out instead.
Video: How does it look?
The Getaway is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The movie itself might be terrible, but this new transfer looks terrific. I wouldn’t rank this with the best high definition treatments I’ve seen, but the image is quite sharp and in most scenes, detail is impressive. A few scenes have a soft texture, but for the most part, this is a much clearer, sharper visual presentation. I found colors to be well handled also and contrast is smooth, so no issues in those areas. This is a fine presentation and while it might not be eye popping, the movie looks very good here.
Audio: How does it sound?
I had decent hopes for the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 option, but this turns out to be a basic, unremarkable presentation. The audio sounds good, don’t misunderstand, but it doesn’t sound great. This sounds like a 2.0 surround option at times, with minimal power and presence to be heard. A few scenes show some signs of added life, but even in the most effective scenes, the audio isn’t up to what we want. Even so, the dialogue is clear and the music sounds good, so not all is lost. In the end, this isn’t a bad track, but I do think this could sound much better. This disc also includes a Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 option, a French language track, and subtitles in English and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
