Retroactive (1997)

Sorry, this movie sucks

People are voting emotionally.

hyped garbage

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Time travel has always been a popular idea within the sci-fi world due to all the different directions that one can take in a story, such as going forward in time to see how the future might look or going backwards in time in an attempt to change the past. It is that last scenario that may very well be why time travel is as appealing to us as it is. What if we could go back and change the errors of our ways or save the lives of those lost in some tragedy, be it war, an accident, or murder. Many movies have featured this but not as many manage to do it with as much action, suspense, and good writing as 1997's "Retroactive".This nice, little film was released as a direct to video piece but don't let that fool you; as you soon discover while watching this, not all direct to video movies belong on the direct to video docket. In the beginning, we are introduced to Brian (played by the great character actor Frank Whaley) who is desperately trying to save a top secret time traveling project from being cut by the pentagon. He succeeds in sending a dead mouse who was just killed by a trap in a maze back in time as well as bringing it back to life. However, he only realizes this after watching a video he made of himself while performing the experiment. You see, only the person or animal who goes through the machine will remember what happened before hand while everyone else has no memory at all. Enters Chicago police negotiator Karen (played by the beautiful and talented Kylie Travis who would only go on acting for a few more years before marrying a New York real estate magnate in 2001. Lucky for her but a shame for us movie goers) who's running away from her own past when she crashes her car into a road side sign while traveling the lonely desert roads of Texas. While stranded, she's picked up by a seemly jovial man named Frank (played by the always delightful James Belushi) and his wife Rayanne (played by Shannon Whirry in a very convincing performance). Everything's goes well until they stop at at a gas station and Frank learns from the shop owner (M. Emmet Walsh, another great character actor) that his wife's been having an affair. From there, we soon discover that underneath Frank's jovial persona lurks a psychotic killer and he responds to the facts by killing his wife and chasing Karen to a concrete building which just happens to be the secret lab of Brian. One thing leads to another and before she knows what's happening, Karen finds herself back in the car with Frank twenty minutes in the past. She decides to try to change the events but only ends up making things worse. She then goes back in time again but makes things even more terrible than she did during the first attempt of changing the past.And that's what makes the movie as suspenseful and entertaining as it is: can Karen change the past for the better or is she doomed to an eternity of time traveling folly? The film accomplishes this by weaving together a story that manages to be intelligent while at the same time keeping you on the edge of your seat. The effects that are used for the time traveling scenes are very good while at the same time the filmmakers are careful in not allowing them to be the drive of the picture like you see in some films. I must also emphasize that James Belushi is pure entertainment in the role of bigger than life Texas psychopath Frank. Its because of little films like this that made 90's cinema so great, that combination of having a cool story and a great production to make it. Whatever you do, don't let this one slip by you because unlike in this movie, you can't rewrite your past errors.

I've shown this movie to several of my friends, and none of them really enjoyed it. It perplexes them why I like it, and I think some of them probably think I'm crazy. Little do they know that they're right, but that's beside the point! This is an awesome movie, and I'm determined to find someone else who agrees with me. Strangely enough, I see a few 8s, 9s, and 10s here on the IMDb, which is heartening, but I've still yet to find a real-life person who can recognize the brilliance of casting James Belushi as a time-traveling, chauvinist psychopath. How could this not be awesome? This is epic movie-making on a scale that transcends the meager ability of most movie-goers to understand.Much like Triangle, Timecrimes, Primer, and The Butterfly Effect, this movie is about the unintended consequences of repeated attempts to create an idealistic timeline. Whereas Triangle is a scifi giallo (like the classic 1970s Dario Argento movies), Timecrimes is more about fate and destiny, Primer is more about obsessive-compulsive perfectionism and addiction, and The Butterfly Effect is more about a dumbass screwing up his own life worse and worse, this is a more about unintended consequences and how they affect others (rather than just your own life). With lots of explosions. I liked how cynical this movie was and how the protagonist's well-meaning idealism causes no end of problems, though, to be honest, it was never really her fault -- James Belushi's psychopath is an over-the-top, chilling villain that I really enjoyed. Belushi has a *lot* of fun with this role, and I have a feeling that his kind of hammy overacting might be what alienated some of my friends. Interestingly, they usually love Anthony Hopkins' hammy overacting in Silence of the Lambs, however.If you're fond of explosive thrillers, I can't recommend this movie highly enough. If you're more into talky, indie dramas, there's always Primer, which was also a good movie. Personally, I think there's room for different takes on the paradox of time travel, and this is a much less intellectual, more action-oriented tack. If you liked Butterfly Effect, you'll probably like this. Fans of Primer might be disappointed with what they perceive as a shallow, Hollywood vehicle for violence and explosions.

Ever find yourself watching a really bad movie with no script or character development, that deteriorates to nothing more than shootings, car chases and explosions? That is "Retroactive" only much worse, because the viewer is forced to endure the same shootings, car chases, and explosions, over and over. If you enjoy sci-fi, avoid this for sure. If you enjoy interesting characters and a clever plot, avoid this for sure. If you don't like wasting an hour and a half of your time, avoid this for sure. If on the other hand you like endless shootings, car chases, and explosions, then "Retroactive" is your movie. All others should avoid "Retroactive" like you would a rabid dog. - MERK

I had picked up the DVD at a store not knowing much about the film, and was surprised that the film was as good as it was. I like Belushi. I think he played this part very well. I had never heard of Kylie Travis before, but I thought she was very good in this film. I thought she played the tough woman part well. I like the movies where there's a tough heroine. Like the Alien movies.Of course, it didn't hurt that Kylie's good looking too. The plot was interesting. I won't divulge the rest of the movie, but suffice it to say, if someone likes adventure and science fiction together, this movie might fill the bill. If you find it at your local video store, I would suggest buying it and adding it to your collection.My summary is that it's a better than average film. I recommend it.