Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

KineticSeoul This is basically a run of the mill revenge action movie that worked when it first came out. Even today it's a okay flick to just pop in and sit through, mainly because of Mel Gibson's portrayal of a bad guy going after the mob to get his money back. He seemed like the type of guy that has a set of principles that he stands by but isn't someone you want to stab in the back. He is a very vengeful character and to a certain extent I could understand where he was coming from. He isn't necessarily a character I could root for but he is someone that resonated with me to a certain extent. Yeah, there is some cool bits then and there but overall it's a generic revenge action movie that is actually quite forgettable. It would have been very forgettable if it was for Mel Gibson's performance, but than again the guy is really good at playing anti-heroes or bad guys that doesn't go full evil.6/10

NateWatchesCoolMovies Payback, my favourite Mel Gibson film, is ol' Mel at his down and dirtiest, in a lovely lowbrow, hard boiled neo noir that kicks you in the nuts and laughs in your face. Gibson plays Porter, a nasty, violent criminal who's betrayed by his strung out whore bag wife (Deborah Kara Unger), and volatile nutbar of a partner (Gregg Henry, coked up and starting fights with anything that has a pulse), following a heist. They shoot him up real good, and take his share of the payout. This pisses Porter off well and good. After recovering, he climbs his way up the corporate ladder of crime, one bullet, punch, kick and slice at a time, to get his 24,000$ bucks. He's not looking for a million, or to take over anyone's organization, just his cut, which becomes a running joke, and a nice character nuance for Gibson to play on. He's a scrappy mess as the ultimate spit on antihero, and it's a blast to watch him maul anyone in his path in a reckless spree of delightful wanton violence to get what's his. Gibsons is at his best when he's playing bad, and here's he's the worst apple of the bunch, a burnt out scumbag on a one way road to self destruction, but thanks to his skills and natural charm, we just can't help but root for the guy. Kris Kristofferson icily plays a crime syndicate honcho, Maria Bello is the hooker with a heart of gold, James Coburn provides comic relief as a hysterical mob boss (Thats just mean, man!!), Bill Duke and Jack Conley leave a trail of slime as corrupt cops, and there's great stuff from William Devane, David Paymer, and a startingly young Lucy Liu as an enthusiastic Triad S&M hooker. It's a happily nihilistic, slash and burn ode to noir, with a snappy, black comedy screenplay and every actor willing to take a bite.

Adam Foidart Under normal circumstances, you would have a hard time respecting, never mind caring about a thug who steals, kidnaps and murders anyone that gets in his way to get his fair share of a robbery but in "Payback" you will more than care about the anti-hero, you'll cheer him on. The story begins with a man named Porter (Mel Gibson). He's been double-crossed and left for dead. He was supposed to get $70,000 from a buddy of his after the two of them pulled off a daring robbery but his cash was taken from him and now, he wants it back. Trouble is that the man he's after, Val Rescnick (Gregg Henry) has been busy while he was recuperating. Now to get his money, which has been completely spent, he's going to have to go higher up than his former friend, he's going to have to tear down one mob higher-up after another. As you can imagine, the Mafiosos do not take kindly to his request.What works with the film is that while the story isn't necessarily all that revolutionary, there are some good twists throughout and the characters are memorable. I mean it in a good way when I say that the characters here are very broad and cartoonish, because every single character is that way. Porter is stubborn to the point of being psychotic. He insists on getting his money, no matter the cost. Personal loss? Injury? Who cares. It's all about getting his $70,000. No more, no less because that's what he is owed. It's the natural order of things for people to get what's coming to them, so if anyone gets in his way, then what they had coming to them was a bullet to the head. What I liked with our protagonist was that the movie doesn't wimp out and make him a thief that plays nice with children or has a soft spot and refuses to hit women or anything like that. The character is a real dirt bag. He's not above stealing from criminals or innocent people as long as it means getting closer to his goal. This is where the movie gets good because there are a ton of obstacles in Porter's way and each detour or change of plans brings in a new character that's a ton of fun to follow. Most of the guys we see Porter go up against are even more despicable than he is so you cheer for him when he blows them away or finds a way to get them out of his hair.In terms of secondary characters we've Porter's former partner Val. You don't like him because he's a fool and everyone around him knows it. Betraying your best friend to pay back a mob debt, just so you could get yourself into an even bigger mess? Not cool. Next we have some amateur gangsters that figure because everybody else is going after Porter, they're going to sneak in and nab 'em to make a good impression. David Paymer plays Arthur Stegman, a bottom-feeder who you enjoy seeing because you know he's in way over his head and eventually, he's going to realize it too... the hard way. Next are two corrupt cops, one of the biggest thorns in Porter's side. Their interactions with our hero prove that he is able to think quickly on his feet and these guys are so slimy they're a joy to watch. Finally we've got two fun female characters as well. A call girl named Rosie (Maria Bello) who proves to be one of the few allies Porter can find in this crazy story (but even then, can she really be trusted?) and we've got Lucy Liu as Pearl, a dominatrix that ends up getting the hots for our protagonist. The film is often very funny because everyone is so outlandish and you can never predict what kind of new and colorful thug is going to show up next to ruin Porter's day.Part of the fun of seeing "Payback" is getting this glimpse at a most seedy underground, but a lot of it is simply seeing a guy so determined to get what's his that he is willing to do anything. There are a lot of moments of tension as your mind races, wondering how our "hero" is going to get himself out of a jam and you even sweat for some of the bag guys, who are too taken aback by Porter's black-and-white view of the. My understanding is that the VHS version of the film is significantly different from the one that is available on Blu-ray and DVD but that just makes me excited to watch this film again and compare the two. If you happen to find this one at a garage sale or you have an old dusty box of tapes in your attic, dig it out and give it a shot. Once in a while you want a hero that isn't squeaky clean. A guy that it turns out, did commit the murder he was thrown in jail for, but is the best man for the job so you're forced to go along with his adventures. When that's what you want, check out "Payback" because it delivers. (Original Theatrical version on VHS, May 21, 2014)

movie reviews Slow, tedious, clichéd, not believable, not engaging, and not interesting. Doesn't that about cover a bad movie? This movie is so bad its hard to know where to start.As it opens for about the first 10 minutes you have hope for this thing the cinematography is great...but about the time Gibson tears the earring off the heroin delivery boy it heads into a steep dive. It just gets worse and worse until you can't take it any more. I lasted an hour only because I wasn't able to see the reviews on IMDb.Dumb dumb and dumber I just don't know what to say.Gratuitous endless sadistic violence Gibson walking around like it might be a comedy he is in. But mostly the thing seems a mime of reality filmed in dark blue color cartoonish villains uggh! Avoid this semi psychotic boring thing! DO NOT RECOMMEND