Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Flashback Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 24, 2023

Dennis Hopper was in a strange place during the 1980s. An actor and director who helped to change the course of the film industry with his work on 1968’s “Easy Rider,” Hopper gradually rode such fame into the ground, embarking on a longstanding battle with alcohol and other vices, sending him on a weird creative path where he worked with top directors (including Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Peckinpah, and Robert Altman) and participated in various B-movies. A plan towards sobriety really returned Hopper to the mainstream, working on himself while offering memorable turns in “Hoosiers” and “Blue Velvet,” making himself known to the business in a different way. 1990’s “Flashback” is representative of the new Dennis Hopper, with the thespian clearly inspired to work on a studio picture, perfectly cast as an aging countercultural figure reconnecting with his past, dealing with all the baggage involved in such self-reflection. If Hopper had a tail, it would be wagging throughout the feature, delivering an energetic performance that mixes elements of his past with traditional servings of action and comedy, handed a decent scene partner in co-star Kiefer Sutherland. It’s difficult to imagine what “Flashback” would’ve been without Hopper’s participation, as he’s working hard to make the material work, adding something special to an endeavor that’s engaging, but needs his energy to work through some lazy screenwriting from David Loughery (who would go on to disappoint with rough scripts for “Fatale,” “Nurse,” “The Intruder,” and “Shattered”).

F.B.I. Agent John Buckner (Kiefer Sutherland) is a clean-cut man of the 1980s, working on his health and law enforcement reputation while dealing with control issues. His superior, Stark (Paul Dooley), has a special assignment for Buckner, tasking him to escort Huey Walker (Dennis Hopper) from California to Washington, where the aging hippie faces charges involving an incident with a train during a 1969 tour stop from Vice President Spiro Agnew. Huey has a history of wily behavior, becoming a focal point for the countercultural movement of the era, but his fame has faded, and the prisoner is eager to stir up trouble to help publicize the autobiography he's trying to sell to publishers. John takes command of the situation, avoiding bad weather by putting Huey on a train, and the men get to know each other, allowing the radical to poke into the agent’s life, which is quick to anger him. After pulling some shenanigans, Huey manages to steal John’s identity, allowing him to go free, but trouble follows the man wherever he goes, soon dealing with local idiots, the wilderness, and Sheriff Hightower (Cliff de Young), who’s looking to protect his congressional run at all costs.

Loughery turns to the odd couple formula for “Flashback,” which gives off some “Midnight Run” fumes as it arranges a plan for John to take custody of Huey, tasked with bringing him up the west coast to Spokane, where the felon is facing responsibility for actions that occurred 20 years earlier. Personalities are established with ease, finding John to be an ambitious twentysomething F.B.I. man who’s dedicated to professionalism, aiming to eat healthy and keep his mind sharp, happy to be chosen to deal with Huey, expecting the escort mission to be easy enough. His prisoner is someone who tried to change the world in the 1960s, excited to create some chaos while claiming the attention of a generation during a turbulent time in American history. Huey’s the counterculture warrior who made an impact when he embarrassed Agnew. John is the conservative man of action, accepting the challenge of controlling a person who lives to make trouble.

It reads like a bad sitcom, but “Flashback” has its charms, constructing a relationship between the lead characters, who are stuck with each other on a train ride, allowing tensions to simmer some before shenanigans develop. Loughery’s vision for trickery isn’t the greatest, and a lot of the picture requires John and Huey to take turns being complete idiots to help advance the story. One example is found on the train, where Huey works to convince his captor that he’s dosed his water with acid, using sleight of hand tricks to distort his reality. It’s a stretch to think anyone would be fooled by this, but “Flashback” needs Huey to steal John’s clothes and escape, embarking on a sequence where he pushes the agent to drink himself into a stupor and enjoy time with a prostitute who works the passenger train circuit. The screenplay has a few of these ridiculous events to help lubricate turns of plot and thicken antagonisms between men, and villainy arrives with Hightower, a corrupt sheriff looking to eliminate Huey and John.

“Flashback” isn’t strong on plot, but it does have some amusing asides, including participation from unfulfilled suburban dads Barry (Richard Masur) and Hal (Michael McKean), who lament the loss of their generation’s influence, aiming to take back power by kidnapping Huey, who they believe is an F.B.I. agent. Their drunken mission adds some wackiness to the adventure, and Masur and McKean are fun to watch. Also bringing some color to “Flashback” is Carol Kane, who plays Maggie, the last member of a hippie commune offering John and Huey shelter as they reassess their relationship and deal with their pasts. “Flashback” gets softer during this sequence, and director Franco Amurri handles the transition well, bringing in some gentle emotion and nostalgia as Summer of Love days are recalled by two men who share a connection to this unique moment in time.

Flashback Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Originally released on DVD decades ago, "Flashback" makes the jump to Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory, who apparently only have a DVD-era master to work with. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is older, without fine detail during the viewing experience, but a general understanding of characters and costuming is available. Interiors offer a softer sense of decoration, and exteriors are equally muted. Colors show some fatigue, but brighter primaries on clothing and signage are appreciable. Greenery is passable. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in good condition.

Flashback Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix supplies a clear understanding of dialogue exchanges, handling the bigness of arguments and the softness of more emotional purges found later in the movie. Scoring supports with satisfactory levels and instrumentation, and soundtrack selections handle with a larger aural presence, offering some low-end beats. Surrounds aren't demanding, pushing out musical moods and mild atmospherics.

Flashback Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this release.

Flashback Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Flashback" can be a blunt instrument at times, filling the soundtrack cuts with jams from the '60s to set the mood, and there's the aforementioned problem with Hightower, who's a ridiculous baddie, bringing gunplay to the story's climax, and that's wholly unnecessary. Unwelcome ideas occasionally make their way to the screen, but "Flashback" remains buoyant, largely due to Sutherland's straight man work and Hopper's excitability, almost channeling Woody Woodpecker at times. Hopper is interesting to watch, clearly having a ball playing with the details of counterculture years and his own place in it, bringing some authenticity to a role he's a perfect match for, gifting the production bursts of enthusiasm it needs when the writing falters.