A Perfect Getaway doesn’t quite live up to the second word of its double-meaning title, but it’s still a nifty little thriller from writer/director David Twohy (Pitch Black) that manages to surprise just enough to make watching it worthwhile.

The setup posits the possibility that one of three couples–newlyweds Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich, free-spirit types Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez, and hitchhikers Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) and Marley Shelton–hiking through lush Hawaiian scenery are murdering tourists.

For the most part Twohy, who also made The Arrival and the underrated Below, succeeds in keeping things tense and us guessing as to who the killers might be, even throwing in self-conscious talk about red herrings and such. At one point someone actually says, “It could be anybody.”

The casting is also nicely offbeat, and Zahn, Jovovich and Sanchez all do decent jobs. But Olyphant easily tops them. As a buff Iraqi war vet who’s “really hard to kill” (as we’re told repeatedly), he’s effortlessly self-assured–almost to the point of cockiness–and gets, and gives real color to, the film’s best lines.

Once the culprits are revealed about 70 minutes in, the film turns into a satisfyingly brutal chase flick in which hatchets are employed, hands are impaled, and characters are shot, and where Twohy stages an entertaining mano a mano between two of the ladies. He also makes brief but effective use of panels during an already exciting chase scene.

Not all of the twists make complete sense, to be sure, and the black-and-white flashbacks meant to explain the how and why behind the bad couple’s actions are unnecessarily long and, what’s more, never make the how and why especially clear. At least, not to me. And the ending is a bit of a letdown, thanks to one character’s last-minute about face.

In the end, it’ll basically help you kill some time (no pun intended), though watching the actors strut around in a gorgeous warm-weather locale may make you a little jealous. If anything, this is the perfect movie to watch during the dead of winter. – [DVD]

Drama/Horror/Mystery/Thriller

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 12/29/09

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