Retroactive

Plot synopsis:
Karen hitches a ride in Frank's car after hers breaks down. Frank is travelling with his abused wife, Rayanne, 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.

Tags: dark, suspenseful, cruelty, murder, violence, alternate reality, flashback, psychedelic, revenge, alternate history

Review:
Rating: *** out of ****A word of warning before the review: I highly recommend Retroactive and suggest you go out of your way to see it in widescreen because the numerous action scenes and breathtaking desert cinematography are cramped and a pain to watch in pan-and-scan.Relegated to a straight-to-video release, Retroactive is a smart and entertaining thriller that deserves a wider audience.
The film features a relatively simple but clever premise: Superhottie Kylie Travis stars as Karen Warren, a police negotiator who's on vacation in Texas.
There, he accidentally activates the time travel device he was working on, sending Karen back twenty minutes, just as she's been picked up by Frank.
The film still has its flaws, none of them surprisingly having to do with a sense of repetition, considering each action setpiece has the same basic setting and situation (car chase on a lonely desert highway, shootout at a gas station).
Plot holes and leaps of logic are expected in this kind of film, but the number of shots fired from a gun shouldn't be that hard to keep track of.As the film's tough heroine, the absolutely gorgeous Kylie Travis is refreshingly intelligent and strong-willed.
Frank Whaley is quite good as the young scientist, hampered only by a single scene that requires him to forget the logic of his own device which Travis corrects him on.With blistering, fast-paced action and a fun story, Retroactive proves to be a highly enjoyable way to spend ninety minutes.
Most of the running time features a tight tank-top and pants wearing Kylie Travis kicking ass, so that alone is enough to recommend the film..
Like the Alien movies.Of course, it didn't hurt that Kylie's good looking too.
If you are looking for a good film at the video story, Retroactive is an excellent rental title.
The title suggests that you are about to watch every bad sci-fi movie you have ever seen, but what lies behind the title is an entertaining time travel film which is actually quite good.James Belushi is quite good as the bad guy and Kylie Travis plays the feisty female cop well.There is great pleasure in watching the main characters failing miserably at changing their situation as they travel back again and again to fix things, when it seems all manage to do is make a bad situation worse.
The ending is surprisingly downbeat and refreshingly rewarding, which makes a change for Hollywood these days.All in all not the best of films ever made, but if you just leave you critical faculties and high expectations at home you will be pleasantly surprised..
In this movie,  we learn that right away,  but it goes even farther to show how even when we redo the trip back in time,  even good intentions by supposedly intelligent people,  can make things even worse the 2nd (or 3rd) time around.
Would it make things better, or worse?Some of Jim Belushi's best acting is in this film- his "stream of consciousness" comments are a riot, and also horrifying, given their context.
I've heard that he had just gotten out of a tough divorce, and the director let him ad lib at length, to really show the anger and madness in the character of Frank.Of course, the lingering camera shots of Kylie Travis flying through the air in her black tank top and tight pants do nothing to detract from the overall watchability of this action/psychodrama thriller.I'd give this one 8/10..
A Chicago cop has car trouble on a remote Texas highway, but is picked up by a murderous man (James Belushi) and his tormented wife.
Unfortunately, her first trips back in time cause more murders, not less.James Belushi shamelessly chews up the scenery in this one (or should I say shoots up), but Kylie Travis is wonderful in her role as the troubled policewoman.
The film has an interesting time-travel premise which is similar to GROUNDHOG DAY and a certain STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION episode.
They've all been interesting but this one sticks in my mind as the one I like the most.I think it's because James Belushi's character is completely unpredictable and Kylie Travis' character becomes increasingly desperate as a result.
I guess it's also because I like the idea that even if you have the ability to travel in time, that doesn't mean you'll automatically be able to change the outcome.I guess I also like the idea of having female lead characters in science fiction movies.
How many times can one watch minor permutations on the exact scene before slumber ensues, and the brain glazes over.This could have been so much more, but a promising cast, and a promising premise have been totally wasted in a sea of car stunts and shoot-em-up.
Thoroughly entertaining film that should bring to mind concepts that have been explored in such films as Groundhog Day (1993) and Lola Rennt (1998) (This movie came out (US release) about a year before Lola Rennt, so it's not fair to claim that this movie stole any ideas from that German film...)Great action photography (glad the Sci-Fi channel showed it in wide screen, letter-box format), multiple car explosions, maximum gunplay perhaps an alternate title for this film could be "All Blowed Up" or some such.
This is truly a fun film, though I couldn't help but snicker at a few things  like, for example, the part where the heroine jumps the chain link fence and gets over to the Texas Accelerator Laboratory, and wouldn't you know it, this multi-gazillion dollar research facility is staffed by a total of ONE person (played excellently by Frank Whaley).
(Wow, just think of the money they saved by not having to hire a cast of extras!!)I also liked looking at the heroine, played by Kylie Travis.
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?
If on the other hand you like endless shootings, car chases, and explosions, then "Retroactive" is your movie.
I'll give this a 10/10..Unfortunately,people nowadays could not create good movies like this anymore.For all of u guyz out there, give this movie a chance, and u'll find that this would be far much2 more satisfying than watching other stupid sci-fi movies (blade runner, transformer, the matrix...) Watch Retroactive!!!
Director Louis Morneau who also directed another classic flick, Road Kill 2: Dead Ahead 2008 has created another gem in Retroactive.Starring James Belushi who has also been other classic flick , Salvador 1986 and Made Men 1999.Also starring Kylie Travis.Also starring Shannon Whirry who has also been in other classic flicks, Animal Instincts II 1994, Animal Instincts 1992, Mirror Images II 1993 and Out for Justice 1991.Also starring M.Emmet Walsh who has also been in other classic flicks, Romeo + Juliet 1996, Narrow Margin 1990, Blood Simple 1984 and Blade Runner 1982.I enjoyed the shootouts and car chases.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic time travel flicks, The Butterfly Effect 2004, Navigator: A Mediaeval Odyssey 1988, Planet of the Apes 1968, Primer 2004, Returner 2002, Slaughterhouse-Five 1972, Timecop 1994, The Caller 2011, Triangle 2009, Edge of Tomorrow 2014 and Timecrimes 2007..
A hostage negotiator with a glitch in her past is in the middle of nowhere (actually, a lost Texas road) when her car crashes and James Belushi and his wife pick her up.
Belushi then murders the wife in front of her, and she makes her way to Frank Whaley, who plays a scientist who is conducting an experiment sending lab rats twenty minutes or so back in time.
Having quit the force, she's traveling through rural Texas when she has car trouble and is then picked up by jovial sleaze bag Frank (James Belushi).
While Karen runs from Frank, she comes across an isolated government complex where lonely young scientist Brian (Frank Whaley) has been conducting time travel experiments.
And so it goes while she stubbornly tries, each time, to make better decisions.Yeah...this does indeed sound like a serious sci-fi version of "Groundhog Day", much like an an earlier TV movie titled '12:01', starring Jonathan Silverman.
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.
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).
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 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 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.
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.
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.
Reading the plot's movie can't see a original story, because the time's travel is already used for many flick , but never in this way till to the story involve in car chase, gun fire and pursuit.
The lead character of the maniac Frank Lloyd is played to ever good James Belushi, that twisting his likely and coarse character of his beginner for show the worse late where  the funny become aggressiveness and his beating is the mirror of his arrogance and ignorance till to prevail the madness.
Belushi is very natural in  	this role and he give a wonderful performance, while the good character is player by Kylie Travis as the psychiatrist cop Karen Warren enough credible the role but her excess use to the movement for express his feeling penalize the player that can be a good player.
Anyway for the people that wait a reflective and engaged work, this movie doesn't for you all of this is based to the action, but for anyone would spend 87 minutes with funny and exciting feeling, without too thinks.
Having said all that, if you enjoy time travel movies, "Retroactive" is certainly worth a look..
You might find this movie entertaining if you are under the age of 12 or one of the two people on the planet that think that Jim Belushi is the best actors ever.
The fine people who made this movie probably had a few hundred dollars, a borrowed camera and a weekend to kill in the desert after they showed up a week late to Burning Man. I personally am a fan of sci-fi and "shoot-em-up" action John Woo style movies, but this took the plot to Waterworld, the action of TankGirl, and the dialogue of New York Minuite.
A cross between "time machine"(at a small range) "the groundhog day" and a road movie,"Retroactive " is not to be taken seriously(!).Belushi's acting verges on a cartoon villain:he looks like Tweety Pie's Sylvester.There's some black humor,mainly in the first part;it tends to become repetitive after a while.
Anyway the place where Brian works is two-bit sci-fi and the scientist's dumb-founded looks are priceless.So is Belushi's big bad wolf swagger.But the prize goes to M.Emmet Walsh's Sam:"don't do it here ,please,take'em to the desert!" "Retroactive" has a couldn't-care- less side which is quite entertaining.But if one seeks meaning and brain stuff,one must move on..
Brian (Frank Whaley) is a lone scientist working on short term time travel back 20 minutes in a government super collider in Texas.
With its elaborate situations, intricately choreographed, prolonged and absolutely thrilling action scenes, and a thought-provoking script full of twists, "Retroactive" is a movie that creates a true sense of vertigo - in a good way.
Kylie Travis is a model action heroine and James Belushi is surprisingly good as the heavy (both literally and figuratively).
The sheer fact that time traveling on macro human-level can't be done according to what we know today would also dismiss great movies like Back to the Future, Terminator series, etc.
It is left as an exercise for the viewer to decide if the machine survives the movie.6/10 of interest to undiscriminating sci-fi fans or people who like to think they are being exposed to novel ideas!.
Any film that includes a situation where a day/event repeats itself over and over again will always be likened to 'Groundhog Day.' Retroactive isn't really like that at all, but it does borrow the idea of an event happening again and again.A woman, on her way through the deserts of Texas, breaks down.
Oh well, never mind...) can transport her twenty minutes back in time.The good news is that she's no longer pursued by James Belushi.
So, time and time again, she has to figure out the best way to stop his violent rampage while getting as few people shot by him as possible.Kylie Travis plays our heroine.
If they did, the film would only be about twenty-five minutes long.So, if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to get over than minor gripe, you'll actually find a solid enough little action movie.
It's nothing new and it would probably never make your top ten films of all time, but it'll certainly fill just under an hour and a half of your time if you're looking for some sci-fi action fun in the desert..
This is an entertaining B-Movie.It's about a cruel maniac (played by James Belushi) who tries to kill his wife and a woman who is trapped in his car.
I didn't knew that you could use Visual Basic to build a time-machine.But apart from that, it is an entertaining, exciting and interesting movie and therefore i give a rating of 7 from 10..
Save the beauty of (Shannon Whirry), who played (Rayanne), some catchy yet absurd action, and some good yet wasted direction from (Louis Morneau), this is frantic B movie from pedant hell.
I enjoyed it much but thank god there is Belushi in this movie the story is quite good even we have seen it before and more often SPOILER: going back in time.
but it is the Belushi who makes this film worth watching who gives actually everything to this movie of course together with the director I also love the desert scene and middle of nowhere big things but I mostly enjoyed like everyone else who liked this movie I think is psychopathic skills of Belushi and every time the time goes back it becomes more and more psychopathic and you can clearly see this going each time deeper and deeper into the madness just AWESOME.
Karen escapes and eventually winds up fleeing from Frank on foot and wouldn't you know it, she happens upon a conveniently located secret facility that turns out to be a time-travel machine.
James Belushi plays great the role of the bad guy, a mean-looking texan, thief and murderer.
Just like in many movies i've seen lately: the lack of originality.Having the chance of re-living a period of time, to be able to change something, is not at all something new.
Karen goes back twenty minutes in time and attempts to stop Frank from killing Rayanne with even more disastrous results.
Frank Whaley as the neurotic scientist plays the part just as well as the polar end of James Belushi as the loud-mouthed hired courier.If you want to see a few new faces and go on a ride back in time, rent Retroactive..
Really, one of the best time-travel movies you'll ever see.
On her way across country, her car breaks down on the desert highway and she is picked up by a bickering couple Frank (James Belushi in the best role he's ever had!) and Rayanne (played with heartbreaking solemnity by Shannon Whirry).
Turns out the facility is overseen by a brilliant scientist named Brian (solidly played by Frank Whaley), who has discovered time travel.
RETROACTIVE is a lost gem in the sci-fi/action/time-travel genre...Highly recommended viewing!.
Still, this is Kylie Travis's movie.I am not certain that it all comes to much, but I admire how the film seems coherent, at least until near the end.
AND besides, how is it that EVERY SINGLE TIME FRANK hits what he aims at, but NO ONE ELSE DOES?It reminds me of how awful The Butterfly Effect was with the same sort of time travel idea but everything that can go wrong does so and stupidly so.And at what point in time are we going to stop showing cars blowing up like this?
I think it is so funny because of the way Belushi's face looks during these intense moments of the movie.
In this film, the actions of Karen, the heroine of the piece, just keep making things worse and worse.