A Perfect Getaway - 2009 film review

I've been working lately on a short story set on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, one of the loveliest places imaginable. So I was delighted to come across A Perfect Getaway, a film released eight years ago, which is also set on the island. In fact, some of the filming was evidently undertaken in Puerto Rico, another nice part of the world, and I could have done with a bit more Kauai-specific atmosphere. Still, the locations are gorgeous.

We start off with film of a recent wedding, and join honeymooning couple Cliff and Cydney, played by Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich. They are in Kauai, determined to get off the beaten track. But there's a killer on the loose in Hawaii. A young couple, we learn, have recently been butchered on the island of Oahu.

Cliff and Cydney encounter another couple, and are about to give them a lift in their car when suspicion about the other pair makes them change their mind. They set off on a scenic trail, and soon encounter Nick (Timothy Olyphant), a charming young man who might just be something of a fantasist. When Cliff tells him that he's a screenwriter, Nick is fascinated, and introduces them to his girlfriend Gina (Kiele Sanchez).

The two couples explore the remote parts of the island together, but become increasingly suspicious of each other. Soon the plot thickens, and there are some exciting incidents as the truth about who exactly committed the murders in Oahu emerges. The plot isn't to be taken too seriously, but the action and the scenery are pleasing enough. An entertaining thriller with a few grisly moments. And I enjoyed being reminded of Kauai.

Hitman

Until I saw Hitman, I’d only watched one film based on a game. That was Clue, loosely derived from the excellent board game I know as Cluedo. Now Clue wasn’t exactly a masterpiece, but alongside Hitman, it looks rather more like Citizen Kane.

Hitman is based on a computer game, and therefore comes from a world with which I’m unfamiliar. The premise is that a mysterious assassin, known only as Number 47, is destined for bad things from boyhood – and his bald pate is stamped with a bar code, for reasons which escaped me. Number 47 is played by Timothy Olyphant with a doughty relentlessness, but the screenplay defies any serious attempt at subtlety of characterisation. A good actor, Dougary Scott (excellent in a much more intelligent thriller, Enigma) is wasted in a role as a secret agent.

Roughly speaking, Number 47 becomes embroiled in a complicated plot concerning the supposed assassination of Belicoff, the Russian leader – or is the victim Belicoff’s double? A glamorous call girl, who sports a facial tattoo, is involved, and Number 47 becomes enamoured of her, saving her life on more than one occasion. The girl is played by Olga Kurylenko, previously known to me as the exotic Bond girl in Quantum of Solace. In this movie, we see quite a lot of Olga, in more ways than one, but despite her ready availability, Number 47 doesn’t succumb to her charms, In a film full of unbelievable things, this is one of the least credible.

I don’t like giving negative reviews of any book, tv show or film, but I can’t deny that – despite Olga’s lustrous presence – I lost interest in Hitman some time before the end. It is, at best, comic book stuff. When I checked the internet, I found that the Rotten Tomatoes site had given the film a paltry 15% approval rating. This was a relief, frankly. I’d hate to think I was so far out of touch that I’d completely missed the point of a modern masterpiece.