Film Review – Get Out (2026)

      **The Get Out, 2026.**

      Directed by Derek Borte.

      Starring Russell Crowe, Luke Evans, Aaron Paul, Teresa Palmer, Nina Dobrev, Daniel Zovatto, Kartiah Vergara, Josh McConville, Yasmin Kassim, Benedict Hardie, Christian Perez, Cameron Leonard, Cory Beeston, and Ever Love Hope.

      **SYNOPSIS:**

      A nightclub owner is about to leave his perilous past behind to retire. After being robbed by masked gunmen and pressured by merciless cartels, an enigmatic newcomer expresses interest in purchasing the business.

      Before delving into the storyline of co-writer/director Derek Borte’s *The Get Out*, it’s worth mentioning that whenever Russell Crowe stars in a film, he adopts a European accent. That has become his trademark, and his inclination to portray Albanians and other nationalities might be more captivating than much of this otherwise generic and overcrowded tale set in Los Angeles about escaping a dangerous lifestyle to find peace with a loved one.

      To be fair, *The Get Out* is adapted from Thomas Perry's novel *Strip* by screenwriters Derek Borte and Daniel Forte, suggesting that perhaps the character in the book is indeed Albanian, making this casting choice potentially fitting; they likely sought the eccentric actor known for portraying quirky and violent Europeans (very much like Crowe’s character in *Kraven the Hunter*). Nevertheless, regardless of the motives behind the decision, it results in a legendary actor giving yet another campy performance that falters even more as the film awkwardly transitions from crime comedy to a more serious action narrative with negligible stakes (which misses the complexity and depth present in the original novel).

      Manco Kapak (Russell Crowe) operates a nightclub that once served as a strip club but has reshaped itself to align with contemporary norms, hinting at the adaptation from the novel. He has ties to a cartel (Daniel Zavatto) with a strict system to sustain operations. His biggest threat comes from his own declining health, as he suffers a cardiac incident while being intimate with his significantly younger girlfriend, Sunny (Teresa Palmer). This incident prompts the couple to think about selling the nightclub to a prospective buyer, Joe Carver (Luke Evans), allowing them to leave that life behind, escape the country, and live in peace without threats.

      Manco and Joe struggle to reach a financial agreement that feels fair to the former, while a corrupt detective (Josh McConville) discreetly enlists the bitter adjunct professor Jeff (Aaron Paul) — who already engages in illegal activities under the guise of helping undeserving students gain admission to prestigious colleges — to rob the nightclub owner of the cash he is carrying for the cartel. Jeff’s failure to get the detective's son into college seemingly necessitates stealing money from Manco.

      Since Manco never retrieves his gun from his car's glove compartment (despite encouragement to carry it), he is repeatedly caught off guard (with Jeff doing this more than once). However, complications arise when bank teller Carrie (Nina Dobrev), who is obsessed with *Point Break*, recognizes something unusual about his deposits and inserts herself into the scam. Carrie, a risk-taker, finds excitement in crime, which unnerves Jeff, who simply wants the ordeal to end, yet he is happy to stop at a motel at Carrie’s insistence after her thrill from robbing Manco.

      The antics of this mismatched duo, reminiscent of a goofy Bonnie and Clyde, provide the most enjoyment, as the contrasting dynamics between Aaron Paul and Nina Dobrev create engaging interactions. Their journey begins to diverge from Manco, focusing more on Carrie becoming overwhelmed, which is amusing and makes for a more captivating film than the rest. Carrie even has a blooper reel that may offer more laughs than the preceding 90 minutes.

      It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with cinematic conventions that these characters are on a path toward an inevitable confrontation due to their reckless and questionable decisions aimed at improving their lives. However, *The Get Out* becomes muddled with excessive plotlines, poor character development, and a tonal shift that moves away from the already ineffective comedic elements toward violence that lacks stakes we can care about. Again, there’s a more intriguing film waiting to be made focusing on this quirky Bonnie and Clyde pairing. If Aaron Paul and Nina Dobrev starred in a *Point Break* remake, it would likely outperform both that actual remake and *The Get Out*.

      **Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★**

      Robert Kojder