Payback (1999)

Very disappointed :(

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Mel Gibson ditches his nice guy image and returns to his psychotic roots (as seen in the MAD MAX films) by playing a criminal with no redeeming features whatsoever. At least, that's the idea. However Gibson's charm and warmth still shine through with his character, so that you can't help rooting for him even if he is the anti-hero. Gibson's trademark smile and wisecracks are in full use here, even if he does employ them when killing people.PAYBACK is an extremely distinctive movie, mainly due to the film noir-ish style of the cinematography. The setting is a dingy, grimy city, mostly filmed in shades of grey and brown, where lowlife seethes everywhere. Nobody in the film is a good character, and even the female love interest is a prostitute. This makes the film feel like a '40s Philip Marlowe crime thriller, which it partly is, but the excessive violence make it something much, much more.The plot, of revenge and double crossing is nothing new, but the twists and spins given to this tale are refreshing and interesting, mainly in the ways in which Gibson outwits the various characters opposing him. There's delight to be had in the way in which Gibson blows up cars, buildings, sets up crooked policeman, and calmly, offhandedly blasts away the bad guys when they won't give him the money. Added into the brew is a much needed level of black humour, my favourite type of comedy, so there's a lot to smile and laugh at too.The cast is top notch, partly the reason why the film is so great. Gibson spends most of the film either beating people up or getting beaten up, but his charisma still shines through (even if he is looking pretty old these days). The female lead is also very good, likable yet realistically human in her role, something lacking from many films these days where the female leads (such as the one in GODZILLA) are annoyingly bubble headed and picked for their looks only. The bad guys are mainly distinguished actors. William Devane is excellent as a laid-back crime boss, while James Coburn steals his scenes as Devane's expensively-dressed, lavishly-attired globetrotting partner. Kris Kristofferson is also effective in his role as the head criminal, he's used to playing villains by now and so he fits the role like a glove. The rest of the actors and actresses are also memorable in their roles, I can't think of one person who stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone surpasses themselves in this film.The violence level is high, which led to some criticism, but there will always be critics no matter what. There are the expected shoot outs and explosions, all staged with panache and style, and some graphic torture scenes involving a hammer and Gibson's toes (very reminiscent of the torture in MISERY). Other good moments involve Gibson ripping out a punk's nose ring, shooting a car full of people from underneath, and of course outsmarting about a hundred and one bad guys. PAYBACK is a great film, one of the best blockbusters that I've seen in recent years, and can easily stand up to repeated viewing.

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.

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)

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