Verdict
Summary
Retrograde is bad even by my low standards; it lacks decent action, it’s plot is bollocks and the sound was terrible. Avoid.
Plot: When a deadly microorganism threatens to wipe out the entire human race, the only hope for the future of mankind is to send a special team of soldiers back in time to prevent the virus from ever coming into existence. The year is 2204. Mankind is under attack from a fast-spreading super-bug that now threatens to destroy the very fabric of human civilization. Our only hope lies with Captain John Foster (Dolph Lundgren) and his elite squad of genetically resistant soldiers. Captain Foster’s mission: travel back into the past, and ensure that the first infection never happens. Now, as Captain Foster’s team races to save the world, they realize that their actions in the present could yield dire consequences for the future.
Review: The addition of Gary Daniels and Dolph Lundgren to an action movie should be a big selling point however, Retrograde is a bit of a low point for both action stars.
I watched it for the first time the other day on Popcorn Flix (part of Roku) which I recently got and I thought the sound on this movie was terrible. It sounded like it was recorded in a toilet with tinny sound effects and indecipherable dialogue; that could just be a problem with our TV…
Even then though it didn’t really matter as the film itself looked like it had a budget of 2 dollars with nothing particularly exciting in the way of action. There are no real fight scenes until the end and they aren’t even that great.
Daniels is wasted in a thankless role and is really more of a supporting character with Dolph as the lead protagonist. The supporting cast are mostly terrible and there is some hilariously bad CG during the finale.
The first half is incredibly dull but at least the pace picks up slightly in the climax and there are several shoot-outs which prevent it being a total loss. It’s really dumb too and apparently a small gun can now blow up entire helicopters along with several other moments that stretch any credibility.
Overall, I won’t waste any more time writing about this film; I am a big fan of Dolph and Daniels but they deserve better than this which is a career low for both.