An audience should be filled with excitement to learn that John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), and William Shaw (Matthew Modine) star in a film together (Did you catch that? I made a Cutthroat Island reference…BOOM!). Sadly, Backtrace isn’t the film fans will want to see. It’s not a bad movie, it’s just not real good.
MacDonald (Matthew Modine) and his crew just pulled off a major heist, walking away with $20 million. Just when he thinks it all went off without a hitch, he’s double-crossed and left for dead. When he comes to, he’s left with amnesia. Captured by police and sent to the psych ward, MacDonald spends the next seven years of his life there. Detective Sykes (Sylvester Stallone) continues to visit MacDonald in hopes his memory will return so he can close the case.
A fellow inmate comes to his aid and breaks him out. This mysterious inmate knows all about him and injects him with a serum to help jog his memory. On the run and in search of the money, he will have to elude the police and now the FBI, who have taken an interest in him as well.
Backtrace could have been something really interesting, but instead, it ends up being mostly dull and forgettable. Director Brian A. Miller is right at home bringing this sort of movie to the screen. In fact, he’s known for making mediocre films with some of Hollywood’s once-biggest stars. It’s truly baffling to see Stallone slumming it in this film when you can just skip this one and head to the theater for Creed II, which is far superior in absolutely every way. His role was very bland and limited, he did the best he could with what he was given, but any actor could have stepped into the role, and it wouldn’t have made a difference.
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The story is pretty cut and dry, with no real suspense and even less action. It just seems far more predictable than it should, and then it’s over, leaving you with an empty feeling. Modine is a great actor, and he really attempted to give his character depth, but the script just didn’t afford him the material to do so. In fact, the cast was really solid, and no one was phoning anything in.
They did their best to elevate the material. The first twenty minutes were pretty intriguing, but it derails itself pretty quickly. Aside from the opening shootout and the closing gunfight, little else happens.
Backtrace is a huge disappointment considering those involved. It’s a throwaway film where very little happens, and the payoff leaves you feeling criminally short-changed. The cast gives it their all, but solid performances just aren’t enough to save this one.
