Backflash

I'm barely ten minutes into this movie when I start thinking, "This is one of those movies where some naive bulb (Patrick) shacks up with the wrong person (Esposito) and gets burned in the process". Well after twenty minutes that's definitely the road this movie was heading down with Patrick playing the everyday joe who's fearful of being a failure and the sexy ex-con Esposito who tries to twist him around her little finger to fulfill her plans.

Patrick and Esposito's chemistry works fine enough and the film features a couple of funny bits, but the story gets pretty convoluted as it reaches into the third act and by the end it has only gotten worse. So when it's all said and done, Backflash has played out like any number of typical straight to video quickies. There's adequate atmosphere and it features some recognizable faces in the supporting cast, but there's little freshness in the story department. As a movie on it's own merits, it's average, but Robert Patrick fans will probably want to check it out.

The camera loves Jennifer Esposito in this dark comedy. Great acting and directing, this film takes you on a ride through crime and sick humor. Melissa Joan Hart is hilarious in this film. If you like Quentin Tarantino films, you'll love this one.

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.

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+)

This really is a nice little movie,definitely worth watching!

The entire movie plays in a desert environment,really an alien looking place to one who lives in Belgium,like me... It's filled with strange people ,the cameraman did an outstanding job of shooting atmospheric images and the music too adds a lot to the atmosphere... See the other reviews to learn more about the content of this movie.

It last only for about 87 minutes but is definitely a time well spend!