The Getaway: Sam Peckinpah

By 1972, many people felt that Sam Peckinpah's career was finished.  While many would argue the merits of such films as Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Cross of Iron, and, to a lesser extent, Convoy, by 1972, Peckinpah's career had begun its tragic slide towards mediocrity.  One reason is the 1972 film The Getaway.  The film follows two criminals who flee from a bungled bank robbery in an attempt to escape both the police and each other.  The robbery had taken three criminals to pull off.  After the heist, one of them tried to double cross the other two.  After managing to kill one of them, he was subdued by the third.  Along with his girlfriend, the third criminal flees towards the US-Mexico border followed by the enraged first criminal.  With the exception of a few terrific gun battle scenes, the film is a slow-moving, dreary affair.  Steve McQueen gives such a subdued performance as the criminal on the run that it feels like he was on tranquilizers.  It just doesn't contain the same energy as his masterpieces The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs.  It wasn't a total failure, but it just wasn't up to the high level of quality that Peckinpah had established by that point in his career.

6/10