"Payback" owes you a better movie.
"Payback"
Overall Rating: **½
Sometimes, good people will still root for the bad guy. When Philip Johnson stole $22 million in an armored car robbery, at least one person I know said something to the effect of "I know it's wrong, but I still kinda hope he gets away with it;" the embarrassing thing is I felt the same way. Moviemakers will sometimes take advantage of this: "Topkapi," "A Clockwork Orange," "Pulp Fiction," and last year's "Wild Things" all had "heros" who were anything but heroic. In a less than completely successful way, "Payback" joins this class of films where you're supposed to root for the bad guy.
Porter (Mel Gibson) is a thief. He and Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) have planned a heist together, and together, steal $140,000 from the Chinese mob. Val, however, needs $130,000 to rejoin the crime syndicate, and giving Porter "his" half of the money doesn't fit his needs. So, Val uses a photo to convince Porter's wife (Deborah Kara Unger) that Porter has been unfaithful, so she'll shoot him in the back. But Porter isn't killed, and he returns for his half of the loot--$70,000.
Many aspects of "Payback" work well. There are a few good action shots; the one that comes to mind is the initial heist; Porter and Val know the mobsters always drive down a particular alley, and notice that they don't wear their seatbelts--so they drive down the alley the other way, and slam head-on into them. Having it's share of well done stunts and special effect explosions, "Payback" won't let you down on that count.
The story is also well told. It's perfectly clear why Porter wants the money back. Porter getting shot in the back when he's betrayed was a nice touch. Most of the movie's best moments, however, are comic. Let's face it, the whole premise of a man taking on an entire organized crime syndicate to get $70,000 back--as Porter does--is so absurd that it's comical. I could follow "Payback" and even found it entertaining in places.
The big problem, however, is that Porter is simply not a sympathetic character. Mel Gibson tries to make Porter charming, but it doesn't work. In fact, there's nobody in the film who's really likable. When you dislike all the characters, it's hard to care about what happens to them.
Beyond the lack of likeable characters, the film has a few other problems. A few things don't make sense, such as why Porter--a career thief--keeps asking for only $70,000 dollars rather than actively trying to steal more. In addition, while the violence may have been justified by the story, some of the sexual content and much bad language was simply gratuitous.
"Payback" is entertaining in places, but that's about all I can say for it. I have mixed feelings about it--I didn't like it but I didn't really dislike it either. "Payback" is not worth $70,000, but you won't demand that the box office pay you back, either.
Title: "Payback"
Release date: February 5, 1999
Overall Rating: **½
Sometimes, good people will still root for the bad guy. When Philip Johnson stole $22 million in an armored car robbery, at least one person I know said something to the effect of "I know it's wrong, but I still kinda hope he gets away with it;" the embarrassing thing is I felt the same way. Moviemakers will sometimes take advantage of this: "Topkapi," "A Clockwork Orange," "Pulp Fiction," and last year's "Wild Things" all had "heros" who were anything but heroic. In a less than completely successful way, "Payback" joins this class of films where you're supposed to root for the bad guy.
Porter (Mel Gibson) is a thief. He and Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) have planned a heist together, and together, steal $140,000 from the Chinese mob. Val, however, needs $130,000 to rejoin the crime syndicate, and giving Porter "his" half of the money doesn't fit his needs. So, Val uses a photo to convince Porter's wife (Deborah Kara Unger) that Porter has been unfaithful, so she'll shoot him in the back. But Porter isn't killed, and he returns for his half of the loot--$70,000.
Many aspects of "Payback" work well. There are a few good action shots; the one that comes to mind is the initial heist; Porter and Val know the mobsters always drive down a particular alley, and notice that they don't wear their seatbelts--so they drive down the alley the other way, and slam head-on into them. Having it's share of well done stunts and special effect explosions, "Payback" won't let you down on that count.
The story is also well told. It's perfectly clear why Porter wants the money back. Porter getting shot in the back when he's betrayed was a nice touch. Most of the movie's best moments, however, are comic. Let's face it, the whole premise of a man taking on an entire organized crime syndicate to get $70,000 back--as Porter does--is so absurd that it's comical. I could follow "Payback" and even found it entertaining in places.
The big problem, however, is that Porter is simply not a sympathetic character. Mel Gibson tries to make Porter charming, but it doesn't work. In fact, there's nobody in the film who's really likable. When you dislike all the characters, it's hard to care about what happens to them.
Beyond the lack of likeable characters, the film has a few other problems. A few things don't make sense, such as why Porter--a career thief--keeps asking for only $70,000 dollars rather than actively trying to steal more. In addition, while the violence may have been justified by the story, some of the sexual content and much bad language was simply gratuitous.
"Payback" is entertaining in places, but that's about all I can say for it. I have mixed feelings about it--I didn't like it but I didn't really dislike it either. "Payback" is not worth $70,000, but you won't demand that the box office pay you back, either.
Title: "Payback"
Release date: February 5, 1999
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: **½
Overall rating: **½
Aprox. run time: 101 min.
Director: Brian Helgeland
Writers: Terry Hayes, Brian Helgeland, Donald E. Westlake (novel, as Richard Stark)
Stars: Mel Gibson, Maria Bello (plays Rosie)
Director: Brian Helgeland
Writers: Terry Hayes, Brian Helgeland, Donald E. Westlake (novel, as Richard Stark)
Stars: Mel Gibson, Maria Bello (plays Rosie)
Added to blog site: 8/4/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 2/07/1999 06:03:00 AM
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