Director Courtney Solomon’s Getaway has earned a scorching title -- “The Worst Film of the Year” -- in many newspaper and online reviews. In fact, the Rotten Tomatoes site for critics reports only a 2% positive rating as of this writing. Even top talent like Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez can’t save the film’s dreadful plot which makes no sense, seems shot with little intrigue or visual style, and raises tons of questions.

Brent Magna (Hawke) is a former racecar driver known as one of the best. He arrives home one day to discover his apartment destroyed , blood on the floor, and after a phone call from a mysterious voice, that his wife has been abducted.

The voice instructs Brent to go to a garage and steal a very rare sports car – an armor-platted souped-up Shelby Mustang.  For the next 90 minutes of the film, the voice commands him to do unconscionable things with the car or his wife will die. Brent must drive through the city park (all decorated for Christmas and full of people), or make a left or a right or drive through a green light and over a sidewalk, missing people by only inches. These antics don’t come without harm. Approximately 130 police cars chase after Brent, with the majority crashing and leaving little doubt concerning the deaths or great harm done to the officers as well as to all the vehicles overturning or crashing to get out of Brent’s way.

Which causes me to wonder what city has 130 police cars available to intentionally keep chasing this guy knowing about such sad results?

While watching this repetitive nonsense in the first 30 minutes, I kept asking myself why Brent could not see -- as surely everyone in the theater does -- that this was not going to end as he wished.  Halfway through the movie another actor actually has a role in the film. It’s Selena Gomez, who just happens to be at the right spot when Brent zooms close by her, and the voice tells him to stop and pick her up.

Gomez’s part is so confusing here! She’s not even given a character name -- just The Girl. At first the Girl plays all hoodie/gangster -like telling Brent it’s her car that was stolen. Then she confirms being a computer geek and begins to perform things that are supposed to help Brent find the voice. Instead, it’s status quo of more car chases and crashes that all look the same. 

One voice command sends the duo to a bank to heist a brief case, but by this time in the film people are laughing or leaving. Something I wish I could have done.  I feel sorry that Hawke -- who spends nearly the entire movie behind the wheel of a car -- and Gomez -- unable to decide if she’s a badie or a helper -- will long be saddled with this piece of junk on their resumés.  

And don’t think the ending settles anything. A brief shot of Jon Voight (nice gig if you can get it) walking away and muttering makes no sense. Did newbie screenwriters Sean Finegan and Gregg Maxwell Parker pay Warner Bros. to greenlight this film?  I don’t know about that, but my advice is to avoid Getaway like the plague! You Tube videos about car chases are far more entertaining.

(Released by Warner Bros. and rated “PG-13” for intense action, violence and mayhem throughout, some rude gestures, and language.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.