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like all car movies, it’s about family

Review by Kevflix And Chill ★★★

Based on a true story about a Vietnamese cab drivers that’s abducted by three Orange County escaped convicts. But what starts as a crime thriller or softs gradually weaves into a character drama about the human need for connection and family. The film feels it’s length and the balancing of the tones of the disparate genres feels off at times, but this still makes for an enjoyable watch. 

(Note: I’m still about 10 films behind in my sundance logs and reviews, and they’re getting harder and harder to go in-depth the further away I get. Also, It’s officially tax season (I’m a tax ant, if you didn’t know that), and that kind of effects how much time I can devote to writing as well.)

2023 Ranked
Sundance 2023 Ranked

Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 2
1. Dustin Nguyen and Queen Latifah in 22 Jump Street
2. Queen Latifah and Kevin Bacon in Beauty Shop

Review by joshrowley ★★★ Liked

Incomplete; interesting; long; slow-burning; talky; well-acted.

Review by jaewon ★★

I think a lot of the building blocks here are really promising. It’s beautifully shot—spectral regret manifests like a dreamy haze in empty houses. It’s built on these long, slow drives (or stops) where cultural boundaries create tension and cultural understanding creates relief.

But the slow-burn stretches this thin; the movie feels like twice its runtime and still feels incomplete or underdeveloped. It looks back on a past we can’t see or feel much of, with a present more focused on minor thrills than its characters—the result is boring and ineffective. Regardless, it won me over a little in its eventual turnaround from a half-decent thriller to a warm family story.

Review by benton tarantella

“the accidental getaway driver,” an article written by paul hix is a tense, wild, nerve-racking and terrifying read. every word, words of fact, paints a vivid portrait of an unnerving and dumbfounding experience, easily putting the reader into the shoes of its subject, long ma. all of that with words alone.

the accidental getaway driver, the film directed by sing j. lee, in spite of having the advantage to use not only words but also sound and visuals to convey the anxiety-inducing true story of long ma’s devastating encounter with three escaped prisoners, lacks in intrigue. it fails to effectively demonstrate the harrowing true story it’s based on. far from being bad (great performances are here in high supply), this adaptation commits the most egregious sin of all: it’s just plain boring

Review by Matt Neglia ★★★ Liked

THE ACCIDENTAL GETAWAY DRIVER could’ve used a trim but the strong direction by Sing J. Lee & affecting work from Hiep Tran-Nghia kept me hooked. Starts off as a taut crime film then shifts into a meditative character study on loneliness & connection. A flawed but engaging directorial debut that is worth a watch.

Review by CullenC ★★★★

Not to brag or anything but I watched the world premiere of this film while at Sundance. (not bragging btw) (it's no biggie)

Review by miguel ★★★★ Liked

“Can I call you father?” “Yes. That’s alright, son.”

What a gorgeous representation of family, truth, and honesty. Although the focus of the story shifted over the entire runtime (which was a little off-putting), the visual language absolutely made up for it. The film’s stellar composition filled the voids of its slightly-too-long of a runtime.

Words cannot even begin to describe the direction and performances of this film. Every aspect was executed with such strength and ion. However, I do believe that The Accidental Getaway Driver could have worked as an extended short and still pack a similar punch.

Regardless, it was absolutely beautiful.

Review by Luka ★★★

Hmm, I like the idea more than the final product. There's an awful lot of silence in here, which I think would've worked nicely if the atmosphere was more tense, but since it isn't, the whole thing feels like 30 minutes of material stretched out to feature length.

Review by Justin LaLiberty ★★★

like a slow cinema riff on Collateral but not quite as cool, or unique, as that sounds

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Strong cinematography and decent chemistry between the leads can’t overcome what feels like a turgid vision by the director in what’s an overlong slog.

Review by Zach Shevich ★★

Maybe the title set me up for disappointment because I assumed a film called The Accidental Getaway Driver would have a bit more, y’know, getaway driving. While it starts in an interesting place it pretty quickly slams on the brakes.