If you're in the mood for a lean, propulsive chase thriller and don't mind that it's standing in the shadow of a beloved original, this Getaway earns its spot on a rabbit-hole movie night. Roger Donaldson keeps the plot moving at a clip, and Jim Thompson's source material still delivers a solid backbone: a heist gone sideways, a marriage under pressure, and a string of double-crosses that never lets the couple catch their breath. Critics at the time measured it against Sam Peckinpah's 1972 version and mostly found it wanting, but taken on its own terms, it's a slick, watchable studio thriller with real momentum and a couple of genuinely tense set-pieces worth your evening.
The reason to actually seek this one out is Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, a real-life couple during filming who bring an unmistakable heat to every scene they share. Their Doc and Carol McCoy feel like two people who trust each other completely and are furious about it, which gives the quieter dialogue scenes as much charge as the shootouts. The action itself holds up better than its reputation suggests, staged with a clean, confident hand by Donaldson, a director with real genre chops. It's not reinventing anything, but there's craft here, and a supporting cast — James Woods and Michael Madsen especially — that's clearly having fun being nasty.
Two real-life sparks and a heist gone wrong make this remake burn hotter than its reputation suggests.
This is a film for people who like their thrillers a little pulpy and their leads a little dangerous — fans of star-driven 90s crime pictures will get exactly what they came for. It's not the movie to reach for if you want the raw, sun-baked meanness of the Peckinpah original; this version is glossier and more forgiving of its characters. But as a watch with expectations reset to 'competent studio thriller with real star wattage,' it delivers more than its rough critical reputation implies. Recommended if you're curious about the Baldwin-Basinger pairing or just want a solid, unpretentious chase movie.
This Getaway is a direct remake of the 1972 film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw, itself adapted from Jim Thompson's 1958 novel of the same name. Walter Hill, who wrote the original screenplay, was attached to this version too before departing over budget disagreements to direct Geronimo: An American Legend, reportedly giving the project his blessing to continue without him. Roger Donaldson took over directing duties, keeping the core heist-and-chase structure intact while giving it a glossier 90s treatment. On release, reviews were largely unfavorable, with critics repeatedly comparing it to Peckinpah's tougher original, and it has settled into film history as a well-cast remake that never quite escaped its predecessor's shadow.
Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger became a couple while filming The Marrying Man and were married by the time they made this movie together, and that real off-screen history is part of what makes their on-screen partnership feel lived-in rather than manufactured. Basinger has said she was initially reluctant to take the role before being drawn in by the story's focus on trust and mistrust between partners. Roger Donaldson, a director who has moved comfortably between genres throughout his career, brings a steady hand for pacing here. If you're drawn to films where real-life chemistry spills into the performances, this one is worth seeing for that alone.
