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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Getaway King’ on Netflix, The Stylish Story Of A Famous Polish Thief And Escape Artist

Where to stream:.

• The Getaway King
• Stream It Or Skip It

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The Getaway King (Netflix) is a fun romp out of Poland about a guy with a knack for executing a good caper and a benevolent streak that elevates him to man of the people status in Communist-era Warsaw. Getaway is inspired by the life of the real Zdzisław Najmrodzki, who was pardoned for his crimes in 1994. But it leaps into a stylized Iron Curtain rabbit hole of its own design. 

THE GETAWAY KING : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: In the Communist-era Poland of 1988, toilet paper is a luxury, and long queues for basic goods are common. There are luxury items to be had, and high-quality Western products, but they’re only for sale in state-authorized Pewex shops, and can only be purchased with American dollars. Life is difficult. But not for Zdzisław Najmrodzki. “Najmro” (Dawid Ogrodnik, Ida ) circumvents the state’s economic woe and the exclusivity of Pewex by robbing the retail chain blind with the help of his crew, Antos (Jakub Gierszał), Mloda (Sandra Drzymalska, Sexify ), and Teplic (Andrzej Andrzejewski). He dresses well, accessories, and dances it up at Warsaw’s swanky Hotel Varsovia. Najmro is a man of luck, not business. Why not? After all, what is business under Communism’s boot heel? “If that state can’t provide,” he says, “I have to.”

The Getaway King is based on the exploits of real-life criminal and Polish folk-hero Zdzisław Najmrodzki, who was said to have escaped the clutches of the Citizen’s Militia 29 times. Director Mateusz Rakowicz takes that reputation and runs with it, imagining Najmro as a carefree, charismatic figure who loves the adrenaline rush of a good heist but is fueled mostly by his amused curiosity. He coasts on his notoriety, too, both with the public – they think of him as an Iron Curtain Robin Hood – and the police. Potential capture would be no problem, because he’s savvy enough to escape. It might even be fun. And so, when the night of another Pewex job arrives, and the crew synchronizes their watches (including a few fine examples of Casio’s legendary run of plastic and chrome 1980’s digital timepieces), Najmro isn’t expecting any heat. But Lieutenant Barski (Robert Więckiewicz) is savvy, too. A car chase ensues and Najmro is captured. For the first time.

After their quarry escapes, to the embarrassment of Barski and the hapless Sergeant Ujma (Robert Więckiewicz), the militia is even more keen to shut Najmro down. But he has a whole new racket on the outside: boosting FSO Polonez liftbacks and selling them at Warsaw’s open-air car market. Najmro is also getting pretty serious with Teresa (Masza Wągrocka), and considering life beyond the realm of thievery. One last job could do it. But he lands back inside the big house, and rides out the fall of the Berlin Wall, the election of Lech Walesa as President, and Poland’s transformation into a market economy from inside a jail cell. This time, whether he’s pardoned or he escapes, the world Najmro returns to will be entirely new.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Is Poland just full of beloved criminal folk heroes? How I Fell In Love With a Gangster is director Maciej Kawulski’s partly fictionalized account of the life of Polish crime kingpin Nikodem Skotarczak. And speaking of Lech Walesa, Robert Wieckiewicz played the Polish statesman in the 2013 biopic Walesa: Man of Hope , which competed for a Best Foreign Language Film nomination at the 86th Academy Awards.

Performance Worth Watching: Everybody changes when 1989 hits and Communism croaks, including Antos, who goes from being an eager but restless member of Najmro’s crew to becoming a ruthless enforcer for a skinhead gang. Jakub Gierszal doesn’t get enough screen time to truly invest in Antos’s darker side, but what he does do is powerful and terrifying.

Memorable Dialogue: “They’ll let me go when I leave the stage,” Najmro assures Teresa. He’s convinced that the state is only after him to prove a point to the public about who’s in charge, and that any prosecution wouldn’t stick. “One last job,” he says, with the confidence of a professional criminal who thinks he’ll finally be the guy to outlast that cliche. Teresa isn’t having it. “You’re not gonna make it.”

“Wanna bet?”

Sex and Skin: Najmro and Teresa consummate their burgeoning romance in a steamy scene full of stylized visual edits.

Our Take: The references to heist film canon in The Getaway King are gleeful and direct. Steven Soderbergh’s editing aesthetic is a near constant, there’s a Rififi name drop, and even a whiff of Heat , when the cops give away their position and the crew walks away from a job without stealing anything. That referentialism combines with a rich color palette and dynamic camera work – swirling circular takes, extreme low-angle shots, and a flair for shooting moody, exciting car chases – to largely remove Getaway from any kind of reality, even if it is inspired by a real guy. Communist-era Poland is an imagined landscape of stark, silent government and tenement blocks, brash interiors imported from an ad hoc version of the 1970’s, and a never ending stream of Eastern Block automobiles, from the omnipresent FSO Polonez, to Ladas, Trabants, Skodas, and ZAZ Zaporozhets. Later, after the Wall falls, BMW sedans enter the picture, and set up the Getaway King ’s penultimate Beemer-on-Beemer car chase.

Dawid Ogrodnik is having loads of fun here as Zdzisław “Najmro” Najmrodzki. He moves through life with an inquisitive gleam in his eye, a sly half-smile, and a flair for mischief-making that’s magnetic. Plus, he’s a clothes horse, and Getaway gives Ogrodnik the best looks. When the crew is casing the sales floor of a Pewex, you really want him to try on each pair of glittery mirrored aviators on the spindle. It all ties back into The Getaway King being more about style than biopic substance, or even the laws of filmmaking. It gets lost inside its own world, and beckons you to do the same.

Will you stream or skip the Polish crime caper #TheGetawayKing on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) May 17, 2022

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Getaway King is a visual treat, and a fun ride through its version of Communist-era Poland, where Najmro is the gallant criminal with professional panache and a flair for outwitting the law.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges

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The Getaway King Reviews

Dawid Ogrodnik is a Polish Errol Flynn, fit, handsome, suave, dashing, and smiling... The actor's overwhelming likability fuels a story that probably wouldn't work without him.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 19, 2022

A visual treat, and a fun ride through its version of Communist-era Poland.

Full Review | May 17, 2022

A classic example of style over substance: to remedy all the narrative deficiencies, Rakowicz tries to distract through a striking aesthetic. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | May 13, 2022

This is a fascinating and charming Polish true crime biography, following a truly magnetic individual who wasn’t quite a modern-day Robin Hood but seems to have been pretty close to it, at least in his home country

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 11, 2022

In Polish with subtitles, or dubbed into English, “The Getaway King” is a thoroughly charming rogue packed into a perfectly entertaining caper comedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 11, 2022

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The Getaway King review – the brilliant tale of a legendary Polish outlaw

The Getaway King is a fascinating retelling of the final days of a Polish folk hero.

This review of the Netflix film The Getaway King does not contain spoilers.

The Getaway King recounts the life of Zdzislaw Najmrodzki (played here by Dawid Ogrodnik) as his outlaw lifestyle collides with love, the final days of communism in Poland, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This is a fascinating and charming Polish true crime biography, following a truly magnetic individual who wasn’t quite a modern-day Robin Hood but seems to have been pretty close to it, at least in his home country. It’s one of those stories that you would struggle to make up, and whilst I’m sure there are elements of The Getaway King that have been embellished for the sake of cinema, I love the idea that someone like Najmro existed so recently.

Stylistically, The Getaway King is bold and brazen, much like its titular protagonist. The music and general aesthetic instantly reminded me of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven, and when you consider the heist elements at play in the narrative, the whole film has a general whiff of the aforementioned title about it.

Even the editing side had a similar feel, although this was something that was slightly less for me than the other parts of The Getaway King . In some sequences, it tried too much and bordered on becoming an advert for menswear. Alongside this, I think the colorist went a little overboard with grading the film — there was so much orange and teal on display that it really started to mess with my eyes later on in the film. I also have to say that I wasn’t big on the Instagram-style filters that seemed to add random patches of red to each and every frame throughout — it became more of a distraction that I had to block out, and where it was more obvious, really took me out of particular moments.

As I said at the start, The Getaway King is one of those stories that, to some extent at least, HAD to be true; it would be hard for someone to pluck this idea of a thief who managed to escape the law 29 times and it not become farcical if it wasn’t based on real-life. This stranger-than-fiction tale made for a really solid narrative, and besides a small dip towards the end of the second act prior to picking up again at the start of the third, the pacing was bang on for much of its 100-minute runtime. This was, of course, massively helped by The Getaway King’ s more action-packed set-pieces — there are some quality car chases that punctuate this film — but it was also nice to be allowed a breather during the quieter, more intimate moments between Najmro and Teresa (Masza Wagrocka).

Of course, all of this would be for nothing if the man The Getaway King is all about was someone audiences would struggle to engage with. It’s clear to me from this that despite not being a more traditionally revered character, Najmro is someone that there’s a quiet adoration for. The way he was presented here reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio’s outing as Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can , which, oddly enough, bears a lot of similarities to this film. On paper, we should abhor what they got up to, but when you look at the sheer moxie they had, you can’t help but admire what they pulled off.

Overall, I really liked The Getaway King. If I’m being honest, there was a lot here for me to fall in love with as films like these are usually a very easy sell for me. The main thing is making sure that the protagonist is nailed on; that they’re someone the audience is going to love, and whilst I can’t speak for the real-life Najmro, this depiction here was so charismatic, creative, and wholly loveable that everything else more or less fell into place around him.

What did you think of the Netflix film The Getaway King? Comment below.

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Article by Kira Comerford

Kira holds many talents, including photography, videography, events, and film & TV journalism. Joining Ready Steady Cut in July 2021, Kira has written over 90 published articles for the site. If you ever see Kira, you’ll probably find her holding a camera doing her latest film project.

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The Getaway King Film Review: Entertaining and stylish, yet not lacking in depth

Rating: ( 3.5 / 5).

The Getaway King (Najmro) is inspired by the life of Zdzisław Najmrodzki, a wanted thief and criminal active in the 70s and 80s. A larger-than-life persona with a folk hero-like standing amongst his people, Najmrodzki is known to have given the police the slip a staggering 29 times during the course of his run. His daring escapes include the ones from prison, the Warsaw Police Headquarters and a courthouse in session. Mateusz Rakowicz’s wildly entertaining film chooses to focus on the man’s existence in the late 80s (1988, to be specific), a period of social discontentment across Poland where shortage reigned supreme. During this time, Najmro’s (Dawid Ogrodnik) lavish heists encompassed a chain of Pewex stores, retailers of scarce luxury goods. With the elitist chain only accepting American currency, it made it next to impossible for the average, local resident to shop there. Najmro and his thievery corporation rob large parts of the premises under the cover of night, making the list of stolen items readily available on the indigenous black market. It is clear-cut crime in the eyes of law enforcement authorities, but to Polish people at large, the man is practically Robin Hood! That is why he is never snitched on or handed over to police, despite a sizable bounty on his head.

Director – Mateusz Rakowicz Cast – Dawid Ogrodnik, Robert Wieckiewicz, Masza Wagrocka, Rafal Zawierucha, Jakub Gierszal, Andrzej Andrzejewski, Sandra Drzymalska, Dorota Kolak Streaming On – Netflix

What strikes you first and foremost is The Getaway King ’s technical prowess. A technical brilliance that meshes exceedingly well with the tone of the film and its charismatic lead character. Cinematographer Jacek Podgórski bathes the distinctive shots in an ochre hue, matching the wondrous and often-playful nature of the events on screen. The allure Najmro exudes is noticeable in the colour of everyday things – Sodium lamp-soaked streets, a motorcycle helmet of a would-be love interest, the floorboards and wooden panels of a police station, a stolen car, you name it. The light chosen to shoot in is another marvel that keeps you captivated. The multi-shot approach to scenes and the apt use of slow-motion work heavily in the film’s favour. Najmro’s grand entrance in the beginning (post-prison break) – from picking out his fancy clothes to dancing to his heart’s content in the discotheque – is a sight for sore eyes, not to mention a celebration of the aforementioned splendour. Even his team’s seamless gravitation towards the hotel elevator after every heist, like clockwork, falls into the same category.

A perfectly cast Dawid Ogrodnik in the titular role is complemented beautifully by each and every character, big or small. Najmro’s flamboyant, mirthful and rather likable personality (even in admittedly stressful situations) is in stark contrast to the hardened police lieutenant, Barski (Robert Wieckiewicz), who isn’t buying into the former’s cult hero status. Early into the film, a car chase ends with Barski’s vehicle toppling in a field. Seconds before an explosion, Najmro unbuckles the lieutenant’s seatbelt and extricates him from the wreckage. Instead of a thank you for saving his life, the getaway king gets a full-blooded punch to the face from the no-nonsense Barski, before being hauled off to the station. There are moments of effective black humour that pepper themselves through the plot, like this one. Namjro’s subsequent exchanges with the lieutenant, as well as the latter’s total disregard for his lazy subordinate, Ujma (Zawierucha), are others to watch out for.

Najmrodzki meets his magnetic match in Tereska (Masza Wagrocka), a cinema ticket-vending attendant. Unlike others, she isn’t floored by Namjro’s charms, and even if she is, she fails to show it. In their banter-and-borderline-flirtatious dynamic, it is Tereska who holds all the power, as the uber-cool and alluring people’s hero can’t help himself from falling head over heels. Masza Wagrocka is quite fantastic in her role, with her character’s witty exchanges with Ogrodnik’s lead forming the most engaging sequences of The Getaway King. The combined acting display is so natural that it’s hard to tell the characters and actors apart. The writing ensures that these characters are really identifiable. The music, like the photography, fits the film like a glove.

The Getaway King excels at presenting this arresting and exuberant persona of a people’s thief, one who purportedly does what he does to subvert the system. While it is light, funny and endearing all at once, there is a shade of darkness simmering just beneath the surface, something that threatens to rear its head without warning. Had it not been for the predictable conclusion (with much artistic liberty thrown in), the film promised to be even better. As stylish and entertaining as it is, Najmro pedals a thought-provoking message through the fictionalised portrayal of an infamous Polish swindler.

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Against gossip & scandal, independent media network, global stories from local perspective, factual culture news, netflix’s ‘the getaway king’: style, color, and a messy plot | polish movie ‘najmro’.

Austin Oguri is a screenwriter and has deep appreciation for the art of film in general, he aims to offer unique perspectives through his film reviews and feature articles. He also has a soft spot for lesser-known works, and enjoys spotlighting them whenever he can. Austin has always found it necessary for people to encourage and bring out the best in each other, and as a writer at The Hollywood Insider, he can combine that ideology with his ability to think outside the box and truly express his love for the arts in the best ways possible.

May 17, 2022

Table of Contents

Photo: ‘The Getaway King’

When it comes to movies, style is something that I always appreciate. It’s always important to remember that film is a visual medium, and that experimenting with the overall look and feel of a movie should be openly encouraged. Directors like Edgar Wright , Wes Anderson , Taika Waititi , and Zack Snyder understand this, and go out of their way to direct films that are distinctly theirs. Sure, it’s true that it takes more than just being stylistic or artsy to make a good movie, but having those elements shows the director understands the medium and is using it to his or her advantage. It’s for this reason that, despite some of the things I’ll be saying in this review, I’m happy that the first-ever Polish film I’ve ever seen is ‘ The Getaway King ’.

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‘The Getaway King’ is an action comedy thriller directed by Mateusz Rakowicz (who co-wrote the screenplay with Łukasz M. Maciejewski) and starring Dawid Ogrodnik , Robert Więckiewicz , and Rafał Zawierucha . The film premiered at the New Horizons Film Festival on the 18th of August 2021 and has just recently been given a wide release by Netflix . The film centers around a fictionalized version of the Polish thief Zdzisław Najmrodzki ( Ogrodnik) , who was notorious for his repeated successful prison escape attempts. After meeting and falling in love with a girl, he helps her sell cars by putting his skills as a thief to use, all while trying to stay under the radar. The film has a very vibrant color palette, which is complemented by a fairly lighthearted tone.

A Lack of Focus

As interesting as this movie looked based on the trailer, I found ‘The Getaway King’ to be a fairly disorganized film. While I generally understood what was going on, the amount of jumping around between characters and situations was a bit overwhelming, and the way the script put everything together came off as a bit confusing. Because of this, a number of potentially emotional moments wound up falling flat. I found myself unable to properly get invested in conflicts between characters, as I didn’t really get a proper feel for who they were. There are a few interesting ideas and moments scattered about in the narrative, such as the handful of scenes depicting the absurd ways Zdzisław manages to escape from the law, but thanks to the messy narrative the “fun” factor of scenes like these feel more superficial than anything. 

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Positive Stuff

As I talked about in the opening of this review, the main aspect that kept me from actively disliking ‘The Getaway King’ was its directorial style. This is the first-ever feature film directed by Mateusz Rakowicz, and from a technical standpoint, it left a fairly good first impression on me. The visual style of the film is very striking; quite a lot of colors really pop out, especially the oranges. The lighting and shading are also used in a powerful way, with light and dark areas of the screen having a very sharp contrast. It’s a look that gives off a strong “vintage” vibe, which decently reflects the film’s time period, which spans the late eighties to the early nineties. In a way, it kind of reminded me of ‘Hobo With a Shotgun’, an intentionally “old-school” style film that used color and lighting in a similar in-your-face way. Adding to the playful, cartoonish vibe of the film are various directorial idiosyncrasies like screen wipes and comedic slow-motion, and the use of generally upbeat period-accurate music .

One gag, in particular, involving a dramatic reveal getting botched by two characters throwing up at what they discover was particularly amusing. All of this took what could’ve been a flat and tedious film and turned it into something with a genuine and fun sense of personality. Looking up his name on IMDB, I found out that Mateusz Rakowicz did storyboard work on a number of films as far back as 2004, and having just seen this film, that’s something that I have no trouble with believing. This is one neatly directed movie, and I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for any future films that Mateusz Rakowicz directs…and luckily, that’s something we won’t have to wait much longer for, as he’s already got one called ‘Dzien Matki’ (or ‘Mother’s Day’) in the works, which too will be coming out on Netflix this Fall . Sorry, was that a bit off-topic? Anyways…

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While I know nothing about the actual, Zdzisław Najmrodzki, and thusly can’t comment on whether or not ‘The Getaway King’ depicts him in a respectful manner or not, I can say that the overall tone of the film paints him as a fairly likable protagonist, despite technically being a criminal. One could argue that it does partially glorify his criminal side, as him being a master at escaping is played off as “cool” at times, and a scene in which he helps steal someone’s car is played out in a comedic manner, but I feel there’s a bit of nuance to it, and that the film is aware that a lot of what he does is wrong. Even so, you can generally see where Zdzisław is coming from, and he’s never truly malicious at all. Morally ambiguous protagonists can be interesting if written well, and while my issues regarding the film’s overall clarity still stand, the character of Zdzisław is one that I felt was perfectly fine.

Should you watch ‘The Getaway King’?

‘The Getaway King’ offers a decent handful of qualities I have no problem in fully appreciating. The almost Wes Anderson-esque playfulness is a real highlight here; it’s an aspect that makes the film a lot more fun and interesting than it could’ve been. This film also manages to balance quirky comedy with more serious moments without ever feeling tonally jarring, as it never ventures too far into dark territory. And finally, there’s the aforementioned fact that this film is a feature-length directorial debut, and as far as such films go, this one has proven (to me at least) that Mateusz has great potential as a filmmaker. I look forward to seeing what direction he takes his future films, as his style is already satisfying and distinct. I can only imagine what his films will look (and sound) like once said style evolves over the course of his career.

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And yet, with all of that said…I recognize that most of my praise for this film is merely based on its presentation. Yes, this film does have style. Yes, it has a great soundtrack, and yes, there are some fun moments. However, for the most part, I found ‘The Getaway King’ to be fairly tedious and unengaging . Good direction can only do so much when the script fails to hold your attention, and unfortunately, that’s how I felt about this film. As for recommendations, if you’ve got a Netflix account and you love “artsy” Cinema, then I’m comfortable saying that this film is still at least worth giving a shot. Between the overall look and the fleeting moments of entertainment, I can see an honest effort at making a good film here. And hey, you might even see something in it that I didn’t.

‘The Getaway King’ is now streaming on Netflix .

Cast & Crew:

Directed by : Mateusz Rakowicz

Written by : Mateusz Rakowicz, Łukasz M. Maciejewski

Starring : Dawid Ogrodnik, Robert Więckiewicz , Rafał Zawierucha

By Austin Oguri

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How Poland’s ‘King of Thieves’ Was Captured in Camerimage Competition Title ‘The Getaway King’

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Zdzisław Najmrodzki, who died in 1995, was one of the most infamous Polish criminals of the communist period. Called the “King of Thieves” and “Master of Escapes,” he evaded pursuit 29 times. Once, he jumped out of the window of a slow-moving train, claiming he saw a stork and felt the call of freedom. But Mateusz Rakowicz’s “The Getaway King,” which will be playing in the main competition at EnergaCamerimage Film Festival this week, isn’t sticking too close to the facts.

“As a historical figure, Najmrodzki is no hero,” says DP Jacek Podgórski. “At that time, everyone was afraid of the militia, so escaping them 29 times was a feat. But it says more about them than it does about him. One time, he simply got them drunk. We expanded the myth and basically reinvented it.”

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Podgórski used his father’s old photographs as a reference, deciding to incorporate their reddish tinge into the film. As well as postcards depicting the “Golden Era” of the Polish People’s Republic.

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“There were whole groups of people, all photographing Polish cities in the exact same way: They always looked clean, the sky was clear, there were no homeless people around and no drunks in the streets,” he says.

“I remember these times. I remember standing in line as this ‘extra person’ to buy toilet paper because in order to get more, you had to come with a child. But this time, harsh reality was just not important to us.”

Full of references and nostalgia (“People are rewinding tapes with a pencil here. Everyone used to do it,” he says), “The Getaway King” was always supposed to be entertainment first, says Podgórski, slowly morphing from a heist movie into romantic action comedy.

“As our lead actor Dawid Ogrodnik says at the end, there must be love in the film. And there is. We meet ‘Najmro’ at the height of his popularity. He has everything, but he doesn’t have love. It will make him grow up,” he says.

“There’s a lot going on in the film, also visually, and not everyone will buy it of course. But it was always supposed to be eye candy,” he adds.

“This was not the time to limit myself. I needed some nonchalance in order to pull this off, that ‘I don’t give a damn’ attitude that Najmrodzki had. Today, it’s hard to impress anyone with an image. But we are talking about a time when you actually didn’t need much to make an impression: Just a closet full of suits, some good shirts and a gold watch.”

“The Getaway King,” produced by TFP, will be distributed in Poland by Dystrybucja Mówi Serwis.

Podgórski, who is currently shooting Netflix’s series “Barbarians” in Kraków with director Lennart Ruff, will reunite with Rakowicz on an action film. “We feel we have a lot more to offer,” he says.

“I don’t know how I got here. I feel a bit ashamed,” says Podgórski, who already won a Bronze Tadpole at Camerimage for a short, “The Body of Mine,” which he also directed. In 2018, he lensed “The Mute” by Bartosz Konopka, set in early Middle Ages.

“It gained some popularity at genre film festivals, where it was basically viewed as a horror film. It’s interesting when the reception is so different,” he adds. Just like in the case of Paul Schrader’s “Forever Mine,” shown at the Polish festival back in 1999. “People saw it as a pastiche and he was just following the conventions of the genre. He wasn’t happy, because the audience was laughing and he made a serious film. Films that follow conventions are generally not well respected and this whole situation has taught me a lot,” he says.

“The most important thing is that we are not pretending to be something we are not. I’m glad ‘The Getaway King’ is here, but it’s being mentioned alongside ‘The Last Duel’ or ‘Dune’ and that’s just insane. For a viewer outside Poland, it will be completely exotic,” he laughs.

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The Getaway King

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• "This is a fascinating and charming Polish true crime biography, following a truly magnetic individual who wasn’t quite a modern-day Robin Hood but seems to have been pretty close to it (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"  Kira Comerford : Ready Steady Cut
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‘The Getaway King’ Ending, Explained: What Happened To Najmro? Did He Survive?

“The Getaway King,” directed by Mateusz Rakowicz, is quite an enjoyable ride through history, thanks to its technical expertise that compliments the execution of the film as well as the lead character’s charisma. We have to hand it to cinematographer Jacek Podgórski for the way he plays with the camera, giving us unique, wondrous moments that perfectly capture the mood which despite being over-the-top do not appear out-of-place. Although these do not match the film’s nature and atmosphere, there is a comfort in not knowing whether the director decides to glorify the lifestyle of a thief or if it is a motif used to showcase the contrast between how lavish his life is and the nature of the work he does. Rakowicz uses this comfort to give us a well-portrayed story that is not adapted but inspired by real incidents. This allows him to put the director’s cut into the film to give it a personal touch. Even the catchy music adheres to the scenes and doesn’t feel out of place. Heists have made their way into the hearts of the audience, thanks to Netflix’s Money Heist. And The Getaway King acquires the same recipe with the same ingredients of romance and action but  garnishes it with a highly saturated hue and a unique stylistic execution to give us 1 hours 40 minutes worth of comforting binge-watch. 

“The Getaway King” is based on the life of notorious Polish thief Zdzisław “Najmro” Najmrodzki, who gained notoriety for escaping the authorities a record 29 times. He robbed more than 70 Pewex stores that did transactions only in American dollars as a means to combat the foreign currency deficit in Communist Poland. He also stole approximately 100 cars. According to official reports, he died in a car accident in 1995, somewhere near Mlawa, northern Poland.

‘The Getaway King’ Plot Summary

Zdzisław Najmrodzki aka Najmro (Dawid Ogrodnik) and his team, consisting of Antos (Jakub Gierszał), Młoda (Sandra Drzymalska) and Teplic (Andrzej Andrzejewski), make their lavish living out of robbery at Pewex stores that sell luxury goods and also share the loot with the common folk. Since the stores would only accept American dollars, it was next to impossible for the regular folks to shop in these places. So, they became a savior for the general public by stealing from these shops and selling it to them. However, what they do isn’t legal, and Lieutenant Barski (Robert Więckiewicz), of the Militia,  is ready to bring an end to their crimes and is dead set upon it. One night, Najmro meets “la belle dame” Tereska (Masza Wągrocka), who sells tickets at a film theater, and is mesmerized by her. What makes Najmro fall for Tereska is the fact that she is unmoved by his so-called charm.

Meanwhile, Najmro shifts from robbing Pewex stores to stealing cars and selling them. However, his romantic life takes a toll on his job, which doesn’t go down well with Antos, who tries to take things into his own hands, robbing a person of the money and bringing it back home, something that is against Najmro’s ideals. In return, Najmro throws him out of his crew. With revenge in mind, Antos informs the police about Najmro’s whereabouts, and he is arrested. During Najmro’s tenure in jail, Antos becomes a full-fledged criminal working for a mob. He even goes on to threaten Najmro’s family, stealing money from them and physically assaulting Tereska. However, after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, a new government was formed in Poland, which led to Najmro’s release. It also removed Barski from his office, who was then reached out to by Najmro’s family for help. All of them then work together to bring down Antos.

Najmro tracks down Antos at a club, warns him, and leaves, but not before hitting him in the head with a gun. As Najmro leaves, an unhinged Antos follows him, and there is a car chase with Antos following Najmro. Meanwhile, Barski is also following them, apparently planning to take Antos down while he is busy hunting for Najmro. Next up, Barski hears a car explosion, and finds out that it is Najmro’s car. The police also recover Najmro’s left hand with his ring on one of the fingers which proves that it is indeed him. As the family raises a toast to their dead and beloved Najmro, Najmro arrives at the table. His left hand is missing, taking everyone by utter shock and surprise. It meant that it was Antos who died in the explosion, and the hand was Najmro’s way of removing himself from under the radar of the police as well as the mobs. The film ends with Najmro speaking in an interview about how he loves action movies and that “love is a must.”

A Thief with a Heart of Gold is Still a Thief

“The Getaway King” excels in giving us an exuberant personality of a thief to whom we tend to take a liking. It is only because we live in a society where justice prevails that we feel that we are wrong in liking him. He purports to provide goods for those people who cannot afford them. While how the film portrays this is endearing, there is a dread that underlines his activities as to what his fate has in store for him. We know he has escaped from prison many times, but there is always the last time for everything, or so we are made to think, which is also what usually happens. He even saved Barski from dying. But Barski doesn’t register this move and punches Najmro unconscious right on the spot and arrests him. The film also adds a romantic element to raise the stakes, which does take the form of harm later on when Antos hits Tereska. He also threatens Najmro’s mother. And that’s when Najmro decides that it’s time for payback. However, the fact that he doesn’t go after Barski is proof that he respects him and what he does. Perhaps that’s why Barski agrees to help him later on.

‘The Getaway King’ Ending Explained- What Happened To Najmro?

For a film that almost assures that the lead negative character will have to face justice for his actions no matter how nice he is to his people, “The Getaway King” comes with a surprise. The film makes it seem as if Antos and Najmro will have a face-off, but all that we get is an explosion, and then Najmro is declared dead by the police. But at the end of the film, we find out that he is alive, thanks to Barski. And it was Barski who hid him long enough for the cops and the mob to consider him off their radar once and for all. The film ends in prison, which suits a thief’s end but yet manages to carry forward its endearing nature and Najmro’s words into our minds.

“The Getaway King” is an incomplete story because it doesn’t show us the death of Zdzisław “Najmro” Najmrodzki. And maybe that’s the good thing about it, because that would be usual. The film aims to give us a glimpse into the life of a thief and how he was no less than a star among those who knew him, other than the authorities. The love, the conflict, the romance, the anger, the hurt, it’s all there, and yet it doesn’t let itself loose on us by making us think about the events but rather enjoy them while learning a bit about the life of Najmro. And that’s the beauty of “The Getaway King.” It comes, and it goes, without us even realizing it but making its presence felt, just like a thief.

“The Getaway King” is a 2022 Biopic Crime Comedy film directed by Mateusz Rakowicz.

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Steve McQueen Was Never Cooler or More Violent Than in This Sam Peckinpah Action Classic

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The Big Picture

• Steve McQueen's role in The Getaway was that of a complicated antihero.
• The film's scandalous production and off-screen romance between the leads threatened to overshadow the movie itself.
• The Getaway is now considered a classic in action cinema and Steve McQueen's filmography.

There was a reason Steve McQueen was anointed the "King of Cool." Idolized by men and adored by women back in the day, McQueen became a top box office star throughout the 1960s and 70s as the counterculture's idea of an action star. Like John Wayne and Gary Cooper before him, he gained fame by embodying the strong, silent type. But whereas Wayne and Cooper mostly played uncomplicated heroes, McQueen reflected the changing times by playing a more complicated antihero, someone with near antipathy towards acts of valor, who wasn't above using violence in ways that weren't necessarily noble. His star persona hit its apex with The Getaway , Sam Peckinpah 's brutal, nihilistic heist film that was reviled in its time but has since been recognized as a classic of action cinema.

The Getaway (1972)

The Getaway follows Doc McCoy, a recently paroled bank robber, and his wife Carol as they attempt to flee to Mexico after a heist goes wrong. Pursued by both the law and criminal associates, the couple navigates betrayal and danger in their desperate bid for freedom.

What Is Sam Peckinpah's 'The Getaway' About?

McQueen plays Carter "Doc" McCoy, a career criminal serving time in a Texas prison. His wife, Carol ( Ali MacGraw ), strikes a deal with corrupt parole board member Jack Beynon ( Ben Johnson ) to get her husband out of jail in exchange for him robbing a bank with goons Rudy Butler ( Al Lettieri ) and Frank Jackson ( Bo Hopkins ). The heist goes haywire when Frank kills a bank guard and Rudy kills Frank, only to be shot himself when he tries to kill Doc. Doc learns that Carol had been sleeping with Beynon and originally agreed to double-cross her husband after the job was done. But Carol turns the tables on Beynon, and she and Doc flee to El Paso with the cash, trying to outrun both a wounded Rudy and the police.

In hindsight, The Getaway feels like an inevitable meeting of the minds between McQueen and Peckinpah, considering the paths their respective careers were taking. After rising to stardom with The Magnificent Seven , The Great Escape , and The Cincinnati Kid , McQueen achieved icon status with Bullitt , playing an ultra-cool San Francisco police detective trying to take down a mob boss who killed a witness he was assigned to protect. Revered for its famous car chase — which played on McQueen's own skills as a professional race car driver — Bullitt cemented the actor's screen persona: masculine, sexy, yet never one to take himself too seriously.

The Bizarre Reason Steve McQueen Turned Down This Steven Spielberg Sci-Fi Classic

The King of Cool had limits for what he was willing to do on film.

Peckinpah, meanwhile, had become a leading New Hollywood director with The Wild Bunch , a revisionist take on cinema's oldest genre: the western. Controversial for its bloody, slow-motion violence, the film spoke to audiences who were traumatized by televised images of the Vietnam War, and reflected a growing sense of hopelessness and irony throughout the country. Although Peckinpah and McQueen would first collaborate on the gentler, more amiable Junior Bonner (also released in 1972), it was with The Getaway that the two found a project that played to their unique strengths, one that would come to define their respective filmographies from then on out.

Steve McQueen's Scandals Nearly Overshadowed 'The Getaway's Production

Tabloid fascination with movie productions is nothing new, and when it came to The Getaway , stories about its production threatened to overshadow the film itself. Things got off to a rocky start before cameras even rolled, as original writer Jim Thompson , who had been hired to adapt his own hard-boiled novel for the screen, was fired by McQueen and replaced by Walter Hill . There was also a game of musical directors chairs, as original helmer Peter Bogdanovich , who was in high demand following The Last Picture Show , left the production to make What's Up, Doc? . Peckinpah was brought in as a replacement, and McQueen clashed with him over his on-set drinking .

But what put The Getaway on the scandal sheets was an off-screen romance between the two onscreen leads . MacGraw, who at the time was married to Paramount Pictures chief Robert Evans , began an affair with McQueen during production that led to the two getting married in 1973 (they later divorced in 1978). Speculation about whether the pair's real life chemistry would translate to the screen undoubtedly led to ticket sales, and the film ended 1972 as one of the year's top box office draws . It was a financial highlight for both Peckinpah and McQueen, who would struggle to regain that success for the remainder of the decade. (McQueen made only five more films before dying in 1980 at age 50, while Peckinpah directed six more movies before passing away in 1984 at age 59).

'The Getaway' Cemented Steve McQueen as the King of Cool

Although it was a big hit with audiences, The Getaway wasn't exactly revered by critics, the majority of whom found it to be just another example of Hollywood's growing obsession with violence. Indeed, the New Hollywood had kicked off with the blood-soaked Bonnie and Clyde and had continued onward with the equally savage The French Connection , Dirty Harry , and Peckinpah's own Straw Dogs . What critics particularly detested about The Getaway , in contrast to those other titles, was how empty it seemed. As Roger Ebert , who was a big fan of The Wild Bunch , put it , the film was "a big, glossy, impersonal mechanical toy. It's like one of those devices for executive desks, with the stainless steel balls on the strings: It functions with great efficiency but doesn't accomplish anything. Click. Click. Click."

Yet contemporary assessment has improved , thanks in no small part to a detested 1994 remake starring then-married stars Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger . What the original got right that the remake got wrong was its sense of desperation. Whereas Baldwin and Basinger's Doc and Carol commit crimes for the fun of it, McQueen and MacGraw's do it because life has left them no other choice. When you live in a world of violence — as America in the 1970s was increasingly becoming due to Vietnam War protests and backlash to the Civil Rights Movement — how else do you respond except with more violence? It's little wonder the cynicism of The Getaway spoke so strongly to audiences in its time, in much the same way McQueen's too-cool-for-school persona did.

For McQueen, The Getaway built upon the star persona he had already established in Bullitt, taking it a step further to create his coolest and most violent performance. Whereas Frank Bullitt had the law on his side, Doc McCoy acts without impunity, killing at will and running away with the money. Yet, despite being a criminal, he still has a code of ethics he lives by, in stark contrast to the totally amoral henchmen he's working with. He might be a bad guy, but he was at least a bad guy you could root for. It takes a special kind of movie star to make audiences relate to a character as unscrupulous as McCoy, and McQueen was certainly that special of a star.

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Channing Tatum Compares Filming ‘Blink Twice’ With Fiancee Zoe Kravitz to ‘Creating a Marriage’

Channing Tatum is honored to have been part of fiancée Zoë Kravitz ‘s directorial debut, Blink Twice .

“To get to create something with someone that you love is probably one of the most gratifying things, other than having a kid with somebody, I think,” Tatum, 44, told People on Thursday, August 8, while attending the premiere with Kravitz, 35, in Los Angeles. “You truly are creating something from nothing and it’s just like creating a marriage.”

Tatum is proud of the work that he put into the project , adding, “Everything that we are is going into this thing and you want to make it with people that you love.”

While discussing her partnership with Tatum , Kravitz had nothing but praise for his commitment to Blink Twice .

Related: Channing Tatum, Zoe Kravitz's Relationship Timeline

“I think going through something creative like this with anybody makes you closer and there’s so much trust there,” she shared with the outlet. “We got to work together and go through hard things together and support each other, and it was beautiful.”

The couple started dating after meeting on the set of the movie, which was initially titled Pussy Island . Tatum plays billionaire tech mogul Slater King, who invites a cocktail waitress, played by Naomi Ackie , to a seemingly nonstop island party — but the getaway quickly turns into a nightmare.

Us Weekly confirmed in August 2021 that Tatum and Kravitz were officially an item . “They both thought the other was cool, fun and attractive, but never acted on it because they were never single,” a source exclusively told Us at the time. “They both have a lot in common, they’re both very active and love outdoor sports and being outdoors.”

At the time, the pair bonded on an “upstate getaway,” with the insider telling Us that both Kravitz and Tatum “like being off the grid.”

Related: Stars Who Dated Their Directors

Before his relationship with Kravitz, Tatum dated Jessie J on and off from 2018 to 2020. He was previously married to Jenna Dewan from 2009 to 2018, finalizing their divorce in 2019. The duo have remained in each other’s lives as they focus on coparenting their 11-year-old daughter, Everly . (Dewan, 43, also shares two children with fiancé Steve Kazee .)

Kravitz, for her part, married Karl Glusman in May 2019 before calling it quits less than two years later.

When it comes to Tatum and Kravitz’s vision for their future, a second insider previously told Us that they are not ruling out kids.

“Having a baby is a very real possibility,” the source shared in June 2023. “But they enjoy taking things slowly.”

For now, the engaged couple are focused on promoting Blink Twice, which also stars C hristian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis and Alia Shawkat .

Related: Celebrity Couples Who Prove That Love Isn’t Dead

Kravitz continued to praise Tatum’s role while making a speech at Thursday’s screening.

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“You supported me in every way. From producing to performing to the pep talks to holding my head or my feet while I cried on the bathroom floor because I thought I f—ked it all up,” she shared. “Thank you for letting me be a complete OCD, psycho, control freak. Thank you for your patience.”

The actress concluded: “Making this film with you has been an awfully great adventure. Thank you for trusting me to female direct you. It’s really very cool to get to make a movie, but when you get to do it with the love of your life, it’s even cooler.”

Blink Twice hits theaters Friday, August 23.

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Reel Rundown: Is Jake Gyllenhaal the king of remakes? ‘Presumed Innocent’ latest in actor’s slate of re-dos

Jake Gyllenhaal seems to be pointing his acting career in a new direction. Fresh off starring in Doug Liman’s recently released big-screen remake of “Road House,” he’s now the star of the Apple TV+ miniseries “Presumed Innocent.”

Yes, this is the same “Presumed Innocent” that author Scott Turow wrote as a best-selling novel in 1987 and that director Alan J. Pakula turned into a 1990 movie starring Harrison Ford.

So, is Gyllenhaal becoming the new king of remakes? If so, he might think about taking roles where the character he plays is just a bit more likeable. Because while the character he plays in “Road House” is troubled and prone to rage, he’s basically a decent guy.

In contrast, his character in Apple TV+’s “Presumed Innocent” is mostly a jerk.

Gyllenhaal plays Rusty Sabich, a hotshot Chicago prosecuting attorney who becomes the target of a murder investigation. And it’s only right that he should be considered a suspect seeing as he was having an affair with the victim – a colleague named Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve). Moreover, he was dangerously obsessed with Polhemus, and he was at her apartment on the night she was murdered, two important facts that he tries to cover up.

His boss, the Chicago district attorney Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp), believes in Sabich – or at least he believes in his right to a fair trial. But things get complicated when Horgan loses his elected position to another attorney, Nico Della Guardia (O-T Fagbenie). Along with a colleague who has no love for Sabich, Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard), the two decide to try Sabich for the crime.

Things are equally complicated in the biracial Sabich home. Wife Barbara (Ruth Negga) – who has already forgiven her husband once for straying with Polhemus – discovers during the investigation that he’d restarted the affair. She even considers having an affair of her own with a friendly bartender (Saunas J. Jackson), despite the effect the family troubles are having on the couple’s children, especially their daughter (Chase Infiniti).

Throughout it all, the supremely arrogant Sabich struts and stumbles his way, proclaiming his innocence and fighting his attorneys, Horgan and an added member of the team (Gabby Beans). And while in the end an explanation is provided for why he does some of the actions that at first glance seem irrational, it doesn’t make him any more of a character that audiences are likely to embrace.

If you’ve read Turow’s novel, or seen Pakula’s movie, you already know some of where the story leads. Yet Kelley and his co-screenwriters, Miki Johnson and Sharr White, have made some adjustments that fit more in a contemporary context – changing the race and/or gender of some characters, eliminating some of Turow’s complicated subplot elements and even, to some extent, altering the ending.

For the most part, the acting is good across the board, from Negga and Beans to Camp, Fagbenie and Sarsgaard. Gyllenhaal, too, has his moments. The question, though, is whether this new version needed to be spread out over eight full, 40-plus-minute episodes when maybe three would have sufficed.

It would be enough to dislike Gyllenhaal’s Sabich for three episodes. But by episode eight, some of us had given up caring what the final verdict might be.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last ... Read all A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg.

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• December 13, 2024 (United States)
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Mitzi mccall dies: film & tv actress and comedian who followed the beatles on ‘ed sullivan’ was 91, ‘uglies’ trailer: joey king and chase stokes want to be pretty in netflix adaptation of sci-fi book.

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Netflix has released the trailer for the long-awaited Uglies movie adaptation.

Based on the book by Scott Westerfeld, Uglies stars Joey King as Tally Youngblood, Chase Stokes as Peris, Keith Powers as David, Brianne Tju as Shay and Laverne Cox as Dr. Cable.

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Teens gather for a ceremonial greeting not unlike those of Divergent (the choosing ceremony) or The Giver (the Ceremony of 12) in which a hologram of Laverne Cox’s Dr. Cable promises, “All the flaws you have today will be gone tomorrow with one elegant procedure.”

RELATED: ‘A Family Affair’ Review: Nicole Kidman & Zac Efron Find Each Other In Smart, Funny Rom-Com Where Age Is Just A Number

Flashing fireworks illuminate Tally, in a pig mask like in Westerfield’s book, sneaking through the city when she is not yet pretty. A filter shows what her perfected face will look like once she turns 16.

“Everyone is accepted,” Cable’s voice continues about the surgery. “No one is left behind.”

Brianne Tju’s Shay sees things differently, though.

“You get the surgery, they tell you what to do, and that’s it,” her voice plays over Chase Stokes’ character stepping into glass tanks to get the modification.

“What if I told you there’s an alternative?” Shay says.

Directed by McG from a script by Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor and Whit Anderson, the film is also executive produced by Joey King and Westerfield. In addition to her collaboration with Netflix, King has a first-look deal with Hulu, which features works of hers like The Act as well as the newer series We Were the Lucky Ones in which she stars.

Uglies arrives on Netflix Sept. 13.

RELATED: ‘We Were The Lucky Ones’: Erica Lipez, Joey King & Logan Lerman On The Decision To “Imply More Than Show” The Violence Of The Holocaust – Contenders TV

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Connie chiume, ‘black panther’ actress, dies at 72.

The veteran South African actress also starred in Beyoncé’s musical film 'Black Is King.'

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Connie Chiume, a South African actress who appeared in Black Panther , Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Beyoncé’s Black Is King , has died. She was 72.

Chiume died Tuesday at the Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, her family announced on Instagram . Her cause of death wasn’t immediately available.

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Born on June 5, 1952, in Welkom, South Africa, Chiume trained as a nurse and graduated with a teaching degree prior to finding her way into the movie and television industry, The Independent reported. It wasn’t until 1977 that she started her career as an actor, moving to Greece to join the cast of the musical Sola Sola .

She later became more recognized among South African communities thanks to her role as Thembi in the series Inkom’ Edla Yodwa in 1989.

From there, she continued to make a name for herself as an actor, starring as Mamokete Khuse in the South African soap opera Rhythm City , as well as dozens of other projects including Warriors from Hell , The Line , I Dreamed of Africa , Yizo yizo , Zone 14 , Home Affairs , Blessers , Umama and Jewel .

Chiume was also cast as a Zawavari, a Mining Tribe Elder, in 2018’s Oscar-winning film Black Panther . She reprised the role in the 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , which saw her character succeed Zuri (Forest Whitaker) as Wakanda’s Elder Statesman.

She previously told South Africa’s Sunday Times in 2022 that she never could have guessed how successful Black Panther was going to be. “I went to an audition not knowing what I was auditioning for,” she said at the time. “I went there and I was given a piece that I was supposed to do. I could see that this person is an African who was addressing the nation. I wore my African regalia, I learnt my lines. I did my best.”

Chiume also portrayed Simba’s mother Sarabi in Beyoncé’s Black Is King , a musical film interpreting the global icon’s soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift .

The Independent reported that Chiume is survived by her four children. She was married from 1985 to 2004.

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