6 Movies Like Backtrace You Must See

Directed by Brian A. Miller, ‘Backtrace’ is an action-thriller film. It follows Detective Sykes (Sylvester Stallone) as he looks for a prisoner who has spent the last seven years in the psychiatric ward of a jail and has a severe case of dementia. Seven years ago, Donovan “Mac” MacDonald (Matthew Modine) and his friends robbed a bank, but Mac was nearly killed by the people who were supposed to be his allies. In the present time, a mysterious man named Lucas (Ryan Guzman) breaks Mac out of the facility so that he can help them find the location of the money he stole. If you have watched ‘Backtrace’ and loved it, here is a list of recommendations that might fit your taste. You can watch most of these movies similar to ‘Backtrace’ on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.

6. Escape Plan (2013)

Starring Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the first film in the ‘Escape Plan’ series revolves around Ray Breslin (Stallone), a former prosecutor turned business owner who runs a security firm along with his partner Lester Clark (Vincent D’Onofrio). They help turn supermax prisons into inescapable fortresses. During every job, Breslin poses as an inmate and attempts to escape from a given prison. However, after agreeing to test the security measure of a top-secret prison, Breslin is betrayed and left to spend the rest of his life incarcerated, He teams up with the mysterious fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) in the hopes of a successful escape. Aside from Stallone playing the protagonist, escape from a prison facility serves as an essential plot point in both films.

5. Dragged Across Concrete (2019)

‘Dragged Across Concrete’ stars yet another action megastar from the 1980s and 1990s — Mel Gibson. Like ‘Backtrace,’ ‘Dragged Across Concrete’ has corrupt law enforcement officials turning to robbery. Desperately needing money, Detectives Brett Ridgeman (Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn) decide to rob the enigmatic Lorentz Vogelmann, who is later revealed to be a bank robber, with disastrous consequences.

4. American Heist (2014)

Like ‘Backtrace,’ ‘American Heist’ is about family and the extent that people would go to protect their loved ones. James (Hayden Christensen) and Frankie (Adrien Brody) are brothers. The latter went to jail so that the former wouldn’t have to and suffered sexual abuse there. Frankie subsequently placed himself under the protection of some of his fellow inmates. Now that they are out, Frankie must repay them by helping them rob a bank, and he convinces a reluctant James to join the heist.

3. Out of Death (2021)

‘Out of Death’ follows Jack Harris (Bruce Willis), a retired police officer who is forced to fight against lawlessness and injustice once more to protect his niece and an innocent woman after the latter is targeted by corrupted cops for filming one of them killing a drug dealer. ‘Out of Death’ is one of the final films of Willis’ illustrious career. In 2022, Willis revealed his aphasia diagnosis and announced his retirement. Both ‘Out of Death’ and ‘Backtrace’ have veteran actors portraying the roles of grizzled lawmen. Moreover, in both films, the antagonists are also part of the law enforcement.

2. 211 (2018)

‘211’ revolves around two police officers and the young ride-along they must protect as an elaborate and violent heist unfolds around them. Patrolman Mike Chandler (Nicolas Cage) struggles with the grief of losing his wife of 30 years to cancer. His relationship with his daughter Lisa has become strained. His current partner, Steve MacAvoy, also happens to be his son-in-law, who informs him of Lisa’s pregnancy. Mike, Steve, and their ride-along Kenny draw the attention of mercenaries turned thieves who transform Chesterford, Massachusetts, into a battle zone. At the core of the narrative of both ‘211’ and ‘Backtrace,’ there is a heist and a veteran police officer trying to protect people.

1. Memento (2000)

Like Mac in ‘Backtrace,’ ‘Memento’s Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) suffers from a version of amnesia, anterograde amnesia to be precise. Due to this, Leonard suffers from short-term memory loss and can’t create new memories. In his pursuit of the people that killed his wife, Leonard uses tattoos and Polaroid photos to keep track of the information he has garnered. ‘Memento’ is one of the earliest movies in the career of filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Although ‘Memento’ is not as celebrated as some of Nolan’s later works, it is still arguably one of his best works.