Taglines: On a lonely Texas road, time, space and murder are about to collide.
Retroactive movie storyline. Karen (Kylie Travis) hitches a ride in Frank’s (James Belushi) car after hers breaks down. Frank is travelling with his abused wife, Rayanne (Shannon Whirry), on his way to sell stolen computer chips. He discovers Rayanne has been unfaithful to him, leading him to kill her.
Karen gets into a shooting match with Frank but escapes, ending up at a laboratory where a scientist, Brian, has invented a time machine. Using the machine, Karen returns to a point in time just a few minutes before the violent events. She succeeds in altering the course of events, but not for the better.
Going back in time again, things become worse still, with the deaths not only of Rayanne, but also Rayanne’s lover, a police officer and a vacationing family. Eventually Karen uses the machine to go back in time far enough that she can avoid getting involved with Frank in the first place. This causes events to unfold without her interference. In this final outcome, Frank kills his accomplice and Rayanne’s lover, but is killed by Rayanne.
Retroactive is a 1997 adventure science fiction action film directed by Louis Morneau and starring James Belushi, Kylie Travis, Shannon Whirry, Frank Whaley, Jesse Borrego, Kristina Coggins, M. Emmet Walsh, Roger Clinton and Robbie Thibaut Jr.
Film Review for Retroactive
Retroactive” borrows the basic plot of “Groundhog Day” and turns it into a time-shifting road-movie actioner. James Belushi toplines as a redneck killer, with Kylie Travis as a police psychologist caught up in a time warp. Pic is almost wall-to-wall action, with the familiar storyline used merely as a peg on which to hang lots of the chases, shootings and explosions. It’s a routine affair that will quickly crop up in vid bins.
Perfunctory opening scene establishes Frank Whaley as Brian, a youthful scientist working improbably alone in an about-to-be shuttered laboratory deep in the Texas desert. Miffed that the Pentagon is canceling his project after he’s made 11 failed attempts to reverse time, Brian makes one more attempt, and — bingo! It works.
Meanwhile, nearby on the road, Karen (Travis) a Chicago-based police psychologist, is heading back to her Texas roots after being involved in a hostage siege that ended in several deaths. Brooding about her failure, she runs off the road and gets a ride from Frank Lloyd (Belushi) and his timid wife, Rayanne (Shannon Whirry).
By the time Frank pulls into a service station run by a buddy, Sam (M. Emmet Walsh), to buy beer, Karen has rightly deduced that Frank is very bad news, but her attempts to get away are thwarted. Suspecting his wife of having an affair with another man, Frank drives down a side road and shoots her. Karen flees, and winds up in Brian’s lab just at the right moment to be shifted backward 20 vital minutes; she finds herself back in Frank’s car.
Armed with the knowledge that Frank’s about to start killing, Karen attempts to manipulate events so they turn out differently, but with a spectacular lack of success. She manages to make it back to the lab for another try, but the third time around the violence escalates even further.
Clearly Karen isn’t much of a psychologist, and she’s even worse with a gun — the film would have been half as long if her aim were better. But “Retroactive” isn’t a film to take seriously, and the time-shifting structure adds surprisingly little to the standard gunplay and mayhem.
Belushi, sporting long sideburns and a mean expression, seems to be relishing his bad-guy role, while Travis is a fetching, if not very convincing, heroine. The rest of the cast aren’t called upon to do a great deal.
Technical credits are fine, with George Mooradian’s expansive widescreen location shooting the major asset. Though set in Texas, pic was lensed in California.Retroactive” borrows the basic plot of “Groundhog Day” and turns it into a time-shifting road-movie actioner. James Belushi toplines as a redneck killer, with Kylie Travis as a police psychologist caught up in a time warp. Pic is almost wall-to-wall action, with the familiar storyline used merely as a peg on which to hang lots of the chases, shootings and explosions. It’s a routine affair that will quickly crop up in vid bins.
Perfunctory opening scene establishes Frank Whaley as Brian, a youthful scientist working improbably alone in an about-to-be shuttered laboratory deep in the Texas desert. Miffed that the Pentagon is canceling his project after he’s made 11 failed attempts to reverse time, Brian makes one more attempt, and — bingo! It works.
Meanwhile, nearby on the road, Karen (Travis) a Chicago-based police psychologist, is heading back to her Texas roots after being involved in a hostage siege that ended in several deaths. Brooding about her failure, she runs off the road and gets a ride from Frank Lloyd (Belushi) and his timid wife, Rayanne (Shannon Whirry).
By the time Frank pulls into a service station run by a buddy, Sam (M. Emmet Walsh), to buy beer, Karen has rightly deduced that Frank is very bad news, but her attempts to get away are thwarted. Suspecting his wife of having an affair with another man, Frank drives down a side road and shoots her. Karen flees, and winds up in Brian’s lab just at the right moment to be shifted backward 20 vital minutes; she finds herself back in Frank’s car.
Armed with the knowledge that Frank’s about to start killing, Karen attempts to manipulate events so they turn out differently, but with a spectacular lack of success. She manages to make it back to the lab for another try, but the third time around the violence escalates even further.
Clearly Karen isn’t much of a psychologist, and she’s even worse with a gun — the film would have been half as long if her aim were better. But “Retroactive” isn’t a film to take seriously, and the time-shifting structure adds surprisingly little to the standard gunplay and mayhem.
Belushi, sporting long sideburns and a mean expression, seems to be relishing his bad-guy role, while Travis is a fetching, if not very convincing, heroine. The rest of the cast aren’t called upon to do a great deal.
Technical credits are fine, with George Mooradian’s expansive widescreen location shooting the major asset. Though set in Texas, pic was lensed in California.
Retroactive (1997)
Directed by: Louis Morneau
Starring: James Belushi, Kylie Travis, Shannon Whirry, Frank Whaley, Jesse Borrego, Kristina Coggins, M. Emmet Walsh, Roger Clinton, Robbie Thibaut Jr.
Screenplay by: Michael Hamilton-Wright, Robert Strauss, Phillip Badger
Production Design by: Philip Duffin
Cinematography by: George Mooradian
Film Editing by: Glenn Garland
Costume Design by: Alexandra Welker
Set Decoration by: Kelly Potter
Music by: Tim Truman
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language.
Distributed by: Orion Pictures
Release Date: January 1, 1997
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