Retroactive (1997) - USA - Sci-Fi - Rated RDirected by Louis MorneauStarring James Belushi, Kylie Travis, Shannon Whirry, Frank Whaley, Jesse Borrego, M. Emmet Walsh, Sherman Howard, Roger Clinton
High octane action combined with the twists of a sci-fi plot and one sexy, badass lady adds up to one fun and exciting ride of a movie.
Karen, a police psychologist taking time off after a hostage crisis gone bad, has a breakdown on a lonely Texas road and is picked up by a man and his wife. It doesn't take long for this man to go from being an obnoxious, sexist bigot to a full-blown psychopath as, due to an arguement, he murders his wife and tries to kill Karen, but she gets away by running into a secret complex in the desert which houses a scientist and a time machine he is working on. Karen ends up running into the time machine by accident as a test in under way and is sent back in time to to point she was originally picked up by the man and his wife. She has an opportunity to correct what has happened, but her interference may well make things worse.
Retroactive is a story about an all too common wish many of us have probably had, and that is if given the chance to correct a mistake or bad decision we made in the past, could we or would we?
At the core of this movie is two things: providing a reason to want to correct the past, and providing an antagonist who is so bad of a person that it gives even more reason to want to correct the past. Shannon Whirry gives an excellent performance as the abused and demure wife giving that reason to want to correct the past and James Belushi is super bad as Frank who deserves no better demise than to be put through a time machine and killed over and over again.
Central to the story is the character of Karen played by Kylie Travis. Dressed in a tight all black outfit, she is sexy, and her character is tough as nails who has no problem going toe to toe with a man which makes her even sexier.
The story builds as it introduces the characters, then takes off like a rocket. Car chases and shootouts are the order of the day as Karen goes through the time machine multiple times, each time with a different result and also giving the audience plenty of action as the story moves along with different twists, at breakneck speed, and you may even feel like ducking.
My Rating: 5 Fingers! I obsessed about whether to give it 4 or 5 fingers, but I have watched this movie several times and despite that it is never a drag.
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