Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

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

a_chinn Based on the Richard Start novel "The Hunter," which was earlier filmed by John Boorman in the classic Lee Marvin picture "Point Blank," brings the story into the modern era with Mel Gibson in the lead. Gibson plays a crook who's double crossed by his partner and wife, and left for dead. However, Gibson is not dead and works his way up the "Syndicate" ladder to get back his money, as well as revenge upon those who crossed him. Although the story takes place in a contemporary setting, the film is wonderfully retro, featuring timeless business suits, old 70s looking cars, and more anachronistic rotary phones than you can shake a stick at. The story is a pretty straightforward revenge tale, but it's filled with so many colorful moments that it's pieces add up to a greater whole. One of my favorite moments is (SPOILER ALERT!) Gibson finding his ex-wife dead in bed and lying down next to her to recall the events leading up to his double-cross in a dreamlike flashback sequence, which manages to be both surreal and melancholy. The film is also filled with clever bits of action, such as when Gibson purposefully crashes a car head on during a heist, including a nice touch of close-up of a mouthguard hitting the ground as he get's out of the car to denote Gibson's premeditation of the crash. There's also a memorable toe smashing torture sequence that's not all that graphic, but effectively unsettling. "Payback" also has some great supporting performances by Maria Bello, David Paymer, Bill Duke, Deborah Kara Unger, John Glover, William Devane, Kris Kristofferson, and James Coburn. I was particularly taken with the underused Gregg Henry as Gibson's friend who double crosses him on a caper and steals his wife, setting off the events of the film. Lucy Liu (billed at Lucy Alexis Liu) is also quite memorable as a dominatrix/torturer friend/mistress of Henry's."Payback" came out at the peak of 1990s Quentin Tarantino ripoffs, but to lump this film in with that batch of imitators does not do it justice. "Payback" is a closer cousin to Don Siegel style of crime films (i.e. "The Killers" or "Charley Varrick") than to Tarantino. It's minus the pop culture references and has it's own unique dark sense of humor. The film is shot with a color palette of black and blues that make it nicely reminiscent of the black and white film noirs that it's referencing. And to be clear, this is the original theatrical version of the film I watched, which is supposed to be vastly different than the director's cut. Thirty percent of the film was re-shot when Brian Helgeland was replaced as director. The theatrical version is said to have had more humor and a generally more breezy tone. At the time this film was released, I was dubious of Gibson's tinkering, but since then Gibson has proven himself as a brilliant filmmaker, so I was less dubious this time around. Gibson years later co-write and produced a spiritual sequel to "Payback" with "Get the Gringo," in which Gibson plays another thief with a single name, which Gibson also narrates, and where his character at one point even says how he was once married, but his wife ran off with a former business associate. Overall, "Payback" is not in the same league as "Point Blank," but it does stand on it's own as a wonderfully retro crime film with an amazingly strong cast.

Fella_shibby I first saw this in theatre. This flick maintains a promise of delivering an experience of a genre which carries nessesary weight. The film is engaging and smart. Payback is a fascinating and gripping exercise in a blending of genres with film theory and character. Payback is, in my opinion, a brilliant ultra dark thriller with a really cool edge to it. It is a sharp paced, brutal movie with enough bad attitude.The soft/dim look of the film richly sets the tone and the music is great, together creating a retro look that harks back to the old noirs of the day.The plot twists are fun, and kept me on the edge of my seat, and I also liked some of the editing, which showed three scenes being played out simultaneously. Its a fun ride, kind of violent, brainless entertainment. Gibson was amazing as Porter.

Screen_Blitz For most of his career, Melt Gibson has taken flight with mainly dramatic roles and has gone on to stir up a few Oscar nominated roles but at the same time made a name for himself as an action hero beginning in the late 70s starring in the titular role in 'Mad Max'. Following the sequels, Gibson made a highly praised debut in 'Lethal Weapon' franchise starring opposite Danny Glover. Fresh out of his wonder years as the gun-totting L.A police detective, Gibson makes once again another appearance as a trigger happy protagonist in this revenge thriller directed by Brian Helgeland. Gibson plays Porter, a merciless, bad-to- the-bone thief who makes no way to make a living than to rob and pick-pocket innocent neighbors of their money and worse of all, the criminals in his neighborhood that surround are certainly no better. After a half-successful robbery from an Asian street gang known as "The Outfit", Porter is betrayed by his partner Val Resnick (played by Gregg Henry) and wife Lynn Porter (played by Deborah Kara Unger) who shoot in cold blood and leave him for dead. However, when Porter miraculously survives he seeks assistance from his ex- lover and former partner Rosie (played by Maria Bello) to deliver vengeance and claim back his money while making his way through a world of vicious drug dealers, prostitutes, and corrupt law officials. Mel Gibson has sported many clever and memorable during his year, arguably his most memorable in 'Lethal Weapon' series or as the British warrior in war epic 'Braveheart'. His role as the protagonist in this film is certainly not as memorable and definitely not as appealing as many of the heroic characters he's known for. While he gives a performance that allows him to suit well in this role, he doesn't quite bring the same sort of charisma he had in his role in Lethal Weapon. Fortunately, he still manages to entertain during gunfight sequences. Watching Gibson mow down the bad guys in a bloody, bullet-blazing frenzy is fun to watch, at least for a little while. But the rest of the time, the film is a bit tedious. From the opening scene, the plot starts off with a promise and progresses into something bigger, and it works at least the first hour. But towards the final stretch, the story falls a bit clumsy and becomes less engaging. On the bright side, the supporting cast does manage to spit out some entertaining performances along the way packing in some dark humor that works at least part of the time, particularly Gregg Henry as Mel Gibson's partner with a hidden agenda on his hands. His performance isn't quite strong, but it holds up. One of the biggest surprises comes Lucy Liu who plays a prostitute of the Asian street gang, quite a questionable role for her.Payback is not your average Mel Gibson actioner and probably sits the lower ladder of Gibson's filmopgraphy. Nonetheless, it is still entertaining on some level and has its moments of spectacle in the midst of its subpar script and plot. This revenge flick is one that will please some but definitely not all, particularly those who go in expecting something on the level of Lethal Weapon.

SnoopyStyle Porter (Mel Gibson) is a bad, bad man and he's looking for revenge on all those who backstabbed him. First he finds his druggie wife (Deborah Kara Unger). In flashbacks, he, his wife and Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) steal money from an Asian gang but his wife shoots him in the back. Val had shown her a picture of Porter with Rosie (Maria Bello). Now Porter is looking to collect his $70k share of the take from Val. Val had used the money to get back into the good graces of the underworld syndicate.The tagline is "Get Ready to Root for the Bad Guy" but I never did. It's dour and dark. It may need more action violence because it doesn't have the realism to be taken seriously. Lucy Liu has a nice role before she got big and this is also early Maria Bello. It has some dark humor but it needs to be funnier. It's an interesting attempt at a dark anti-hero but I can't completely buy it.