Backtrace
1.5/4
Starring: Matthew Modine, Ryan Guzman, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher McDonald, Meadow Williams, Tyler Jon Olson, Colin Egglesfield
Rated R for Violence and Some Language
The amnesiac is a great thriller device because it keeps the audience in the dark. It's impossible not to identify with someone in a situation where everyone understands the rules except him. Hitchcock loved this device and used it to great effect in movies like "North by Northwest." Such a genius gimmick deserves to be put to better use than in a treasure hunt.
Seven years ago, Mac (Modine) absconded with $15 million dollars. But he was betrayed, and his two partners were left dead. Mac was smart enough to hide the money where no one else could find it. Unfortunately, he's been left with amnesia and doesn't know who he is, much less where the cash was stashed. But a mysterious man named Lucas (Guzman) cons his way into the mental hospital with a plan to restore Mac's memories and get the money. Trouble comes as a local cop named Sykes (Stallone) is trying to close the seven year old case with a shifty FBI agent (McDonald) on his back.
"Backtrace" has two problems: it's lazy and it's stupid. Like, if you have this good premise, should you be so unambitious as to allow the plot to move forward because a McGuffin allows a character to remember his past at regular intervals? Because that's what happens in this movie. It's repetitive, to say the least. And the climax? Let's just say that it runs the gamut: people firing more bullets than they could possibly have in their gun without reloading, making mistakes dumb enough to be straight out of a horror movie, two people firing at each other point blank and never hitting, the list goes on.
The acting varies. Matthew Modine adds enough vulnerability to make the amnesiac Mac sympathetic. Ryan Guzman continues to mature as an actor, bringing Lucas to live with a mixture of warmth and intensity (and boy, does the camera love him). Sly is just going through the motions. Christopher McDonald has nothing to do except shock us with his sudden aging. Everyone else is horrible. As in, really bad.
The best I can say about "Backtrace" is that the action scenes are directed with enough skill to generate some suspense. I won't go so far as to say they're going to make you forget to take a breath, but they're engaging enough to be interesting. Unfortunately they're stuck in a movie that doesn't deserve them.
Starring: Matthew Modine, Ryan Guzman, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher McDonald, Meadow Williams, Tyler Jon Olson, Colin Egglesfield
Rated R for Violence and Some Language
The amnesiac is a great thriller device because it keeps the audience in the dark. It's impossible not to identify with someone in a situation where everyone understands the rules except him. Hitchcock loved this device and used it to great effect in movies like "North by Northwest." Such a genius gimmick deserves to be put to better use than in a treasure hunt.
Seven years ago, Mac (Modine) absconded with $15 million dollars. But he was betrayed, and his two partners were left dead. Mac was smart enough to hide the money where no one else could find it. Unfortunately, he's been left with amnesia and doesn't know who he is, much less where the cash was stashed. But a mysterious man named Lucas (Guzman) cons his way into the mental hospital with a plan to restore Mac's memories and get the money. Trouble comes as a local cop named Sykes (Stallone) is trying to close the seven year old case with a shifty FBI agent (McDonald) on his back.
"Backtrace" has two problems: it's lazy and it's stupid. Like, if you have this good premise, should you be so unambitious as to allow the plot to move forward because a McGuffin allows a character to remember his past at regular intervals? Because that's what happens in this movie. It's repetitive, to say the least. And the climax? Let's just say that it runs the gamut: people firing more bullets than they could possibly have in their gun without reloading, making mistakes dumb enough to be straight out of a horror movie, two people firing at each other point blank and never hitting, the list goes on.
The acting varies. Matthew Modine adds enough vulnerability to make the amnesiac Mac sympathetic. Ryan Guzman continues to mature as an actor, bringing Lucas to live with a mixture of warmth and intensity (and boy, does the camera love him). Sly is just going through the motions. Christopher McDonald has nothing to do except shock us with his sudden aging. Everyone else is horrible. As in, really bad.
The best I can say about "Backtrace" is that the action scenes are directed with enough skill to generate some suspense. I won't go so far as to say they're going to make you forget to take a breath, but they're engaging enough to be interesting. Unfortunately they're stuck in a movie that doesn't deserve them.
Comments
Post a Comment