Retrograde (2004)

User Rating:

3.2/10   

Director:

Christopher Kulikowski

Writers:

Gianluca Curti (co-writer)
Christopher Kulikowski (story)

Release Date:

14 January 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

In the past... Lies our future

Plot:

Two time travelers with opposing views are sent back to the present aboard a research ship in the Antarctic to prevent a global biological disaster from occuring.

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	John Foster
Silvia De Santis	...	Renee Diaz
Joe Montana	...	Dalton
Gary Daniels	...	Markus
Joe Sagal	...	Andrew Schrader
Ken Samuels	...	Capt. Robert Davis
David Jean Thomas	...	Jefferson
Jamie Treacher	...	Mackenzie
Marco Lorenzini	...	Bruce Ross
Scott Joseph	...	Greg
Adrian Sellars	...	Keith
James Chalke	...	Vacceri
Nicolas de Pruyssenaere	...	Ichek
Dean Gregory	...	Central Command Leader
Derek Kueter	...	Charley

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Luxembourg | Italy | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 (DVD) | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | USA:R | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

Carousel Picture Company, The

Trivia:

Filmed in only eighteen days, edited in two and a half weeks, and mixed in one day.

Lower grade Dolph

Dolph Lundgren vehicles have hit DVD every spring for the last few years. Apparently they have done well enough that some studio finally snagged this sci-fi time travel flick that has been sitting on the shelf since completion in 2003. John Foster (Lundgren) pilots a space craft from 2204 back to the 21rst century with the crew's mission to stop scientists from discovering plague carrying meteorites in Antarctica. Naturally, there are traitors on board who want to alter the future for their own personal gains and it is up to Dolph to stop them. This is pretty bad, thanks mostly to the flat direction by Christopher Kulikowski. The guy has no concept on how to stage or film a fight scene. And who casts martial artist Gary Daniels and doesn't give him a big fight scene? Even more disappointing when you see former PM Entertainment exec Joseph Merhi is a producer on this. The acting is uniformly bad with Joe Sagal (as a rich dude funding the scientific expedition) and Ken Samuels (as the boat captain) being the stand outs. Seriously, how do guys this bad get cast and maintain some semblance of a career? One has to wonder if working with such a poor director is what finally made Dolph decide to step behind the camera (his directorial debut was the film made right after this). He has directed 4 films since RETROGRADE and the three I've seen have been infinitely more entertaining than this.