The film chronicles the adventures of a trio of non-violent bank robbers formed by a teenager (Haim), his immature father (Rossi) and the latter's feisty girlfriend (Rothrock).

In desperation, Lilly attacks Nelson and throws him from the truck, leaving him dragging precariously behind the vehicle on a strip of chain link fence.

While Sam reaches for the detonator, Tony attempts to run him over, but Lorraine rams into the truck with her car at the last second, sending it tumbling down a cliff where it explodes.

As the three drive away to seek medical treatment for Nelson, Tony is shown dangling helplessly from the face of the cliff, having survived the ordeal.

[9] In actuality, according to Steve Kelso, one of the stuntmen involved, even the latter part of the 1100-foot descent, a seemingly 400-foot jump towards the river, was controlled by a carefully concealed winch.

[11] Rothrock also felt that, as a first-time director, Razatos was more prone to asserting his authority towards her, due to her martial arts background, than he was towards the film's seasoned thespians.

[12]: 6:30  However, she was allowed to choreograph the hotel room fight scene, and took the opportunity to bring back some acrobatic moves from her Hong Kong films.

According to Rothrock, the young actor—dismissing the producers' demand that he remain in character—sported a darker look and chose to rap his lines throughout, which turned off the intended audience and sapped the film's test performance.

[13] Fast Getaway opened at select theaters in Washington state and Oregon on April 5, 1991,[14][15] with Haim traveling to Portland to promote the film.

Reviewing the film during its brief theatrical run, Kristin Bell of Vancouver, Washington's The Columbian was most negative, calling it "one of the most idiotic, pointless and awful movies I have ever had the misfortune of watching".

[18] Joan Bunke of The Des Moines Register praised the bridge stunt, but found that other setpieces did not stand out enough to compensate for a "dopey script", making the film "a one-stunt flick" rather than the non-stop thrill ride touted by Razatos.

[19] TV Guide was more positive, finding that Razatos' shifts from comedy to drama "work surprisingly well" while Rothrock was "sexy, funny and scary", and summing up the movie as "engaging, mindless entertainment with energetic performances and rapid motion".