BLU-RAY REVIEW

Backtrace

Featured In Issue 240, June 2019

Picture3.5
Sound4
WSR Score2.5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
55807
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Violence and some language
(Retail Price):
$22.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
(Running Time In Minutes):
88
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
2/19/2019
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
(Director):
Brian A. Miller
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(Subtitles):

In "Backtrace," the lone surviving thief of a violent armored-car robbery is sprung from a high-security facility and administered an experimental drug. After suffering a brain injury from the bank-heist gone wrong, Macdonald (Modine) develops amnesia and is put into a prison psychiatric ward. Following his seventh year of evaluation, he is coerced by an inmate (Guzman) and a ward doctor (Williams) to break out of prison and with the injected serum, he is forced to relive the life he's forgotten. Macdonald must now elude a local detective (Stallone), a tough FBI agent (McDonald), and the drug's dangerous side effects in order to recover the stolen money, all while confronting his past. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a making-of featurette (HD 05:58), cast and crew interviews (HD 20:49), a trailer, a gallery, upfront previews, and a digital copy.

The 1.85:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed digitally using the Arri camera system and sourced from a 2K master Digital Intermediate format. The picture is noisy throughout, and the imagery exhibits an overall soft focus with close-up incidents that reveal better detail. Contrast is decent, though, in darker scenes noise is apparent. Color fidelity is not exact, as for naturalness, with memory-recall segments significantly muted. Fleshtones appear varied throughout from natural to flush red. This is basically a mediocre picture that carries the story but not stunningly. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is frontal focused but with an enveloping presence that is made up with atmospherics, sound effects, and the orchestral score. The envelopment is aggressive, though, not discretely directonalized. Sound effects deliver good dynamics such as powerful gunfire, and bass extension in the .1 LFE channels provides a satisfying foundation to the soundtrack. Dialogue is generally integrated spatially with the other sound elements. Overall, the soundtrack delivers satisfying dynamics and a holosonic® envelopment. (Gary Reber)