THE GET OUT Review

The Get Out is a newly released streaming offering that can be found on Paramount+. I actually had not heard much about this movie before the wife and I were strolling through Roku City tonight. I needed something good to watch after clocking an outright abysmal movie earlier in the day, and nothing was really ringing my bell after perusing Peacock and Hulu. But then I hit Paramount+ and saw Russell Crowe starring in a new flick. I have a conflicted history with Mr. Crowe as a movie fan, but I have certainly grown to appreciate him more in recent years. So The Get Out it was.

The story behind The Get Out is that of Marco, an Albanian nightclub owner (I'm not sure they ever say exactly where his club purports to be, but I think it was California, as there is discussion later in the film of characters going to Vancouver). He lives a relatively clean but intense lifestyle, and early in the picture, he suffers a "cardiac event" while having sex with his girlfriend, Sunny. Taking Sunny and the doctors to heart, Marco decides it might be time to retire and start a new relaxing lifestyle.

The problem here, of course, is that Marco uses his nightclub to launder money for a local crime lord, Rodriguez. And these issues are compounded one night when Marco is robbed of Rodriguez's money while going to an after-hours bank deposit. Rodriguez is already furious at Marco for making Rodriguez and his family look weak and able to be hit. Will the kingpin allow Marco and Sunny to leave the nightclub business and live their new lives?

And what exactly is the deal with the man who robbed Marco? Well, he gets drawn into the orbit of Marco's goings-on, as well...

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ I'm not going to lie: I love this era of Russell Crowe's career where he inexplicably keeps taking on roles that cause him to affect a silly accent and basically goof around. He seems like he is having so much fun out there and like he is just living his best life. Is he doing the best acting of his career? Clearly not. But the joy he seems to be having is infectious, and he's still a clearly talented and committed performer. 

It's a weird turn for the big-time award winner. But between this, Thor: Love & Thunder, The Pope's Exorcist, Kraven The Hunter, and more, Crowe just takes weird accent role after weird accent role. It's way more than a coincidence at this point; he's clearly doing this on purpose. And, like I said, it's just coming across as some goofy fun. Even when the movie is bad, Crowe remains a bright spot in some of these features.

+ The story has several branches that all end up intertwining and coalescing, and I appreciate that. It all makes sense at the end when you get the plot wrap-up from one of the characters. Russell Crowe has his story, and Aaron Paul has his story, and it ends up being perfectly fitting how they are related. It's not in-depth on the level of something like Snatch or the like, but it's still well-plotted and works within its universe. 

I am always a fan of flicks that create alternating stories that slowly swirl together. It takes an incredibly talented and efficient writer to be able to weave such tales. I've never been particularly good at it, so it's a skill I envy. And this movie gets credit from me for its ability to bring all of its ingredients together.

- The resolution to Jeff's storyline is very abrupt and kind of out of nowhere. I just was not expecting the movie to go in the direction it did, and I wanted something better from it. I see why it went the way it did--to get to the ending, of course--but I feel like there were better ways to get there than what it ultimately takes. 

- The female characters aren't treated particularly well. You've got Carrie, who is just nuts along the "Bitches Be Crazy" trope. Sunny is just "The Woman Marco Loves", and she has little characterization besides that. And she is victimized by others. Irena is not much of a character, and she is, again, victimized by others and moved like a pawn by the men in the movie. The film also just writes her out when it can't find a further use for her. There's even a nameless girl Russell Crowe just shoots in the face when she is too stupid to figure out how to work a gun when she gets the drop on him.

To say the women aren't empowered here is understating it. You would hope we would be past this problem in 2026, but... here we are.

OVERALL

The Get Out is a decently fun crime thriller starring a very game Russell Crowe who just can't miss... even if his role selection could often use refining. The story takes some disappointing turns in the third act, especially in regard to Aaron Paul's Jeff character, but it's still worth a watch on Paramount+.

🍿 SCORE = 58 / 100