Backflash

Although "Backflash" does remind me a little of a superior film, "Red Rock West", with fine desert locations and plenty of guitar strums, the constant flash backs or should I say "backflashes" are both confusing and annoying. This is the type of twisty story that begs for a re-watch simply to determine if the outcome makes any sense, or is indeed playing games with the audience. The presence of actors Mike Starr and Michael J. Pollard is a nice touch, but the leads, Jennifer Esposito and Robert Patrick are difficult to embrace because of their generic characters. Special mention must be made of the soundtrack, which seems to have a strong Native American influence, and is quite good. - MERK

A massive missed opportunity by the makers of this movie. What should have been a sizzling tale of betrayal and intrigue is turned into a by the numbers 3a.m TV slot filler. Robert Patrick coasts his way through the movie, putting in a bare minimum effort to draw his paycheck. Jennifer Esposito is shockingly under-used by the director, when she should have been setting the screen alight as the sultry temptress. Colm Meaney is reduced to comic relief when he could have been much more sinister.

At the end of the day, with a spring clean of the script to tighten up the dialogue and a decent director, you could remake this movie with exactly the same cast and turn a rating of '3' into a '9'. Sorry Mr Philip J Jones (Producer/ Writer/ Director), trying to do it all yourself was a wrong move.

For a low-budget movie, BACKFLASH looks pretty good. The cinematography is crisp and bright, and while some scenes look a little sparse at times, it never looks really cheap. The problem instead is with the screenplay. It plays like a first draft - scenes go by v-e-r-y slowly, when the story should play out quicker and tighter. There's no spark, and that includes the various twists and turns - you'll most likely have seen most of them before, so they aren't a surprise. The movie tries to jerk us around more near the end, but the twists in this part aren't believable and/or just lead to plot holes. And while Robert Patrick isn't a bad actor, he's wrong for a role that more belongs to someone who can convincingly play a little dim and not totally sure of things. And sadly, Michael J. Pollard is wasted in a role that just gives him two minutes of screen time at most.

Take a simple-minded story and leave out parts so as to mystify the audience and then plug them in later so we can relish in the revelation. Rent a handful of 2nd tier talent. Drag the shots out because you can't afford to be busy...busy costs money. Pump up the atmospherics because they're cheap. Avoid expensive action like blazing fire fights and blow up a cardboard cabin instead. And, voila! You have "Backflash", a cheap B-movie set in the BFAZ desert which tells of a video store owner, a babe, and a bunch of mob heavies all trying to get their mits on some ill-gotten dinero. This no brainer explains everything with flashbacks so it would make an ideal soporific for the weary couch potato. (D+)

In this film, Melissa Joan Hart leaves Sabrina behind and gives a hilariously sarcastic and sexy performance as a wise-ass, hard-drinking, prostitute-turned-back room mortician. Unfortunately, Melissa's screen time is limited and the viewer is left with a film that mostly comes across as an edited-for-television version of itself. Think Wild Things with all the sex removed and Bill Murray's screen time cut dramatically. My recommendation is to use scene select to watch Melissa prove she can really deliver as an actress, then go watch Body Heat.