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Brilliant and touching

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Word on the (imdb) street is that director Dennis Hopper was so p*ssed with studio interference that he asked for his name to be removed from the credits. Apparently he submitted and initial cut that ran over three hours and was then distraught when it was deemed too long and culled to a lean 90 minutes.As a viewer I can only pass judgment based upon what I see, and I can sympathise with both parties. For one I cannot fathom sitting through another 90 minutes of this eye-vomit, but on the other hand it seems that an absolutely insane editing decision renders the viewing experience incomprehensible.The upshot of that is as always no-one wins.Consider this: Anne (Jodie Foster) is an avant-garde artiste who witnesses a murder within approximately 27 seconds of entering a 'bad neighbourhood'.This moment of incredibly inopportune timing puts both mob and the FBI on her trail after she refuses to testify and shoots through to pursue a lifetime on the run in disguise.Dennis Hopper plays Milo, the elite hit-man hired by the mob to eliminate Anne and put an end to this nonsense, only Milo is apparently entranced by Anne's artwork and almost instantly changes from a cold blooded hit-man into a creepy stalker-rapist.Now. While all this is indeed mostly reprehensible it is not yet implausible. But wait there's more… (I would ordinarily warn of Spoilers to a 20 year old film here, but they are blabbed all over the back of the DVD cover so I don't feel so bad.) After Milo kidnaps Anne, threatens her life, forces her to don sexy (a word that should never appear in the same sentence as Jodie Foster) lingerie and rapes her – her words – we cut abruptly to a scene apparently only a short while later where they are both very much in genuine love.Wait. What the f*ck? Anyway the rest of this god-awful mess exists if you care to find it. I wouldn't suggest it. Repeatedly punch yourself in the groin instead, it's more fun and burns more calories. Unfortunately for me I didn't take that option and was still sitting glassy eyed when the credits rolled… The only other thing worth mentioning is that this stain of a film actually boasts a top-notch cast of actors punching well below their weight; Fred Ward, Joe Pesci, John Turturro, Dean Stockwell, Catherine Keener and Charlie Sheen all wasted parts of their lives appearing in it.As for the 'headliners' Jodie Foster was always miscast in a role that demanded 'sexy', and Dennis Hopper over-acts to sh*t in this film. If that isn't enough he adopts a ridiculous and annoying accent. Not being an American I have no idea if the accent is authentic or not and frankly I don't care, all I will say is that if it is legit perhaps it is advisable to simply not have characters from that particular region in film from this point on.Like this film there are things that don't need to exist.Final Rating – 3.5 / 10. If I was Dennis Hopper and had to live with the realisation that I was even partially responsible for Back-Track / Catch-Fire / Cinematic-Turd I wouldn't seek to remove the name Dennis Hopper from the film, I would seek to remove myself from Dennis Hopper.

So many weird and disastrous things about this movie- • That Foster's character plays an artist who's work is so clearly modeled on Jenny Holzer's only to read in the credits that the art was actually created for the film... by Jenny Holzer.• How many actresses get to do more than one film with lambs as major plot elements? • That score: 12 Roland D-50's puffing away like a house on fire, and a single saxophone from hell. (Takes you back to the 80's, but not in a good way.) • Worst editing and looping I've ever seen, -IN THE DIRECTOR'S CUT-!!! • A helicopter on a hill! Deux-ex-machina a-go-go.• Biggest allstar cast since "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World", to similar effect.• Who would have guessed that Dennis Hopper had such a grating and unbelievable Jersey accent??

Despite the shameless overacting by almost the entire cast, and, despite the "chop shop" editing of the DVD, and, despite the two famous actors (Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci) who yanked their names from the credits, and, despite the randomness and somewhat unbelievability of the script, and, despite the movie's tendency to vacillate wildly between genuine tension, dark humor, titillating nudity, and cartoonish situations, in spite of all these potential faults, "Backtrack" is very watchable. It has fantastic on location photography, that only adds to the enjoyment of a somewhat flawed, nevertheless intriguing, and ultimately entertaining movie. - MERK

I don't which is more painful. Watching the film, or reading the positive reviews for this on IMDB.com. I really could not believe the reviews or the 5.3 rating. This movie is a way below average.This movie moved very slow. It resembled watching water boil. The remaining time counter on VCR remained on an hour forever and a day. I did not even look to see if this film made it DVD so I could play on DVD player. I doubt it.Jodie Foster and Dennis Hopper had no on screen chemistry what so ever. Jodie Foster did not convince me that she was in love with Milo. Even Jodie Foster's nude scenes could not save this film. Yes, Jodie Foster is an attractive woman, but in this film, she was about as sexy as Kathy Bates in About Schimdt. I did not buy into John Turturro as a hitman.This movie had a great cast. With Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, John Turturro, and Dean Stockwell, this film should have been better. But, I doubt that any actor or director could have saved this script.Finally, I am not a fan of technology in films. Milo (Dennis Hopper) three "high powered" 286 processor computers, and Anne Benton (Jodie Foster) "high tech" LED signs really makes this movie seem more dated than it actually is.I don't get me wrong. I like small, no budget films. I like strange movies that make think, "What the hell?" afterwards. I will admit to own, watch, and enjoy Clockwork Orange and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. But, this was not a good film from any view point.