Retroactive

Directed by: Louis Morneau

Starring: Kylie Travis, James Belushi, Shannon Whirry, Frank Whaley, M. Emmett Walsh

Synopsis:

Karen (Travis) is a hostage negotiator, reeling from a disasterous operation which ended with 6 hostages being killed. After her car breaks down on a dusty Texas back-road, she hitches a lift with Frank (Belushi) and his wife Raylene (Whirry), to get to the next gas station. Unfortunately for Karen, an ugly scene is about to unfold as Frank discovers his wife's infidelity and kills her. Karen manages to escape to a nearby, secret army bunker where Brian (Whaley), a young gifted scientist, is conducting time travel experiments. Suddenly Karen has travelled back 20 minutes and finds herself back in the car with Frank and Raylene, but with complete knowledge of what is to transpire. Can she possibly change the outcome?

Review:

When I came up with the concept of this "unseen classic" section, this is exactly the sort of movie I had in mind.

The title unfortunately has a lot to answer for - it doesn't suggest anything beyond low-budget scifi. What it actually is, is a slice of high action desert peril, in the same league as The Hitcher (the original. not the remake. ever.).

The movie is balanced by two outstanding performances. First there's Jim Belushi, giving his most larger then life performance as Frank. Loud, boisterous, sexist pig of a man, coming off like a third-rate Elvis impersonator. It would be hilarious if Frank wasn't such a lethal, cunning psycho.. Secondly there's Kylie Travis, who went to star in the tv series Models Inc. Here she plays a capable action heroine giving Linda Hamilton a run for her money. Shannon Whirry gives a strained performance of a woman literally at the end of her tether.

The action is excellent throughout - lots of shootouts, car crashes, fist-fights, people being thrown through plate glass doors and windows. This is also one of those movies with magic six-shooters, which can fire off about 10-12 shots without reloading!

Budget restraints mean the time travel aspect is kept to a minimum - the set is basically a tunnel with a raised platform. But it fits the story, and Frank Whaley's character sets out the "rules" right at the start.

There's a lot of fun to be had with this movie, such as watching how everything escalates from an already messed up situation to wholescale massacre. Unlike the recent "Vantage Point", Retroactive manages to keep track of where everyone is meant to be and how they react to each new kink in the timeline.

I've had a look through the credits listed at IMDB.com for this movie, and this seems to be one of those colaborations where the final result is definitely greater than the sum of it's parts - at least those behind the camera. Neither the writers or the director have managed to achieve anything like this quality in anything they've done since. Well, I guess we'll always have Texas..

Verdict:

Great performances, great action sequences make this essential viewing. The time-travel element works within the rules it sets itself. Make a drinking game out of how many bullets are fired from the magic revolvers...

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)