Customer Reviews

Payback - Straight Up - The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

"Payback" hails back to the seventies type movies where rooting for the bad guy is the whole point of the movie and it works quite successfully in this first-rate film. Mel Gibson does an terrific job of playing the bad guy that you really want to root for. Fair warning to the light of heart and young ones though, for this film is not for them. Sticking with Mel Gibson's type of film making, the realism in this film is astonishing and could be considered rather shocking.

Given that this is an entirely different type of movie for Mel Gibson in which he is the hero of the film but his character isn't quite the "hero" type, I found his performance to be exceptional, but then again, name a film where his performance wasn't exceptional. Maria Bello of "ER" fame stars as Mel Gibson's love interest and she performs quite well in this film. Gregg Henry who plays the "true" bad guy of the film and he does a great job of playing the extraordinarily sadistic mafia "wannabe." Kris Kristofferson plays the "mob" boss of the film. Lucy Alexis Liu performs quite "scarily" as the masochistic/sadistic call girl with some interesting associates.

This is the first film from Director Brian Helgeland that I've seen and he certainly deserves a great amount of praise for bringing the novel "The Hunter" by Richard Stark to the silver screen and DVD format. This film is certainly the last of its type in the twentieth century! The sound track for the film matches perfectly with the entire "feel" and atmosphere of the film, greatly enhancing the experience.

The premise:

Mel Gibson plays Porter who, while being little more than a common criminal is not so much a common criminal as the film unfolds. As the film opens Porter is retelling the recent events of his life after he's been shot and has now recovered enough to make his way back to New York City and he's on a mission. We soon learn that he and Val Resnick had planned and executed the robbery of $130,000 from a Chinese organized crime group and that when it came time to divide the money between himself and his wife and Val, Val had been conspiring with Porter's wife, showing her a picture of Porter and Rosie (Maria Bello). Porter's wife shoots him in the back. He's now recovered and he's coming to town, looking for his $70,000 and to kill Val Resnick.

What follows from there is nothing short of one of the most brilliant films of its type where Mel Gibson brings his style of acting to the forefront where he can throw in some well placed and funny lines in the most serious of situations for his character.

I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of this genre as you will soon find that it bears many viewings quite easily and all the way through you'll be "rooting for the bad guy." {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

There's not much to look for here when it comes to the Special Features for "Payback." In the end though, this DVD is about the movie and that's what you get, in all its glory!

- 2 Theatrical Trailers
- Behind the Scenes Featurette

What a straightforward, action packed flick this was with no confusing sidebar twists or excess baggage plots. This is the first film I've seen Gibson portray a character only described as a good-bad guy. This time he has the upperhand (most of the time) and does a bit of the damage control; It's always the real bad guys that get that privelage. Without giving away too much of the film's minor portion of comical slapstick, there is one scene where Gibson's character Porter is repeatedly slapped in the back of the head by one of the movie's shadier characters (this is a funny scene, especially when America remembers a time when Mel was US Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in the past). His dead panned expressions and deep serious voice let the bad guys know he is not kidding around. Lucy Liu, from Ally McBeal fame, turns in one of the most kinkiest performances without actually using any nudity ! She adds quite a sensational spark to the movie. All in all, from the previous mixed reviews, people should take it for what it is; A typical action/comedy/drama flick done Mel Gibson style !Mel's antics rate top 5 stars and the story rates 3 stars. It was also a real hoot to see some old Hollywood heavyweights: James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, and William DeVane. The only question is still why all that for 70 grand ?

This bluray boast a very sharp video quality. From start to finish I was very impressed at how good an old movie like this can look. Extremely enjoyed the extras which had interviews with all the cast. Pace of this director's cut was a lot slower than the original release as how the director intended. Along with it you lose Mel's character narration that was highly enjoyable on the previous release. Even for such an old flick, you can see all of Mel's wrinkles and see his age.

This cripple is sitting on the ground up against a wall screaming at the people who pass by him "Help a Veteran of Vietanam walk again." and people are throwing money in his cup. Porter (Mel Gibson) walks up to the man and picks up the cup and proceeds to take the dollar bills from it. Immediately the Vet rises to his feet to get his money back. With that Porter let's out "I just cured you." and walks away. It is scenes like that that make this movie so cool. At a certain part of the film you find out that Nixon is in the White House, which means this story would have had to have taken place in the early 1970s yet some of the places Porter goes has a very 1990s feel to them and in one scene there is a Chevrolet Suburban and that vehicle wasn't available until after the 1970s were over. So some parts of this film are just a little confusing (not the actual story just the time that this movie was supposed to have taken place is confusing). Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn make up a stellar supporting cast. This movie is for you. Yes you. Go out and buy this film and you will own the best revenge movie of all time.

This is dark yet amusing film about a thug looking for revenge on his partner that double crossed him. He wants revenge but most of all he wants his 70k that was taken from him. His quest brings, the mob, the man who wanted to kill him, and the people who he stole the money from in the first place all after him.

It really isn't much of a plot but it is brimming with first rate performances from Mel Gibson all the way down to William Devane to John Glover. (Note to the Star Wars franchise: Great acting can overcome a mediocre plot, but Bad acting can't save a good one).

This movie isn't great but it's not only good but it's good the 2nd 3rd and the fourth time. Lucy Liu's fatso line is worth the price of the picture alone.

Definitely a keeper.

This movie is not for everyone, as shown by Kent's review who must have thought this was a Disney movie or something. I could barely believe his comments in the review. The film is supposed to be dark, it is supposed to dreary, it is supposed to be full of crooks, it is supposed to be violent. Sheesh, it's like writing a poor review of Lion King because it was animated.

I thoroughly enjoyed this black comedy/ action. The writers were very clever and I was surprised to see how well Gibson played this gangster type role so well.

Although it is not for everyone, it is certainly worthwhile having a close look at.

They destroyed the 1999 version, which is much better. I but director's cut thinking that I would get more, but I got less, it is like 11 minutes of less movies and change characters and removed interesting scenes.

Meet Porter. He's having a bad day. His own buddy scamed him, his grilfriend sold him out, he got beat up and left for dead. Who says that nice guys finish last? Not this one. Finally, a movie where Mel Gibson is the bad guy. But he's a really good bad guy, if you know what I mean. It's a powerhouse of a movie that is about one thing:revenge. But not just some pithy little sour note. No. This movie is a kick in the face right off the bat. There's humor, action, crime, drama, and it's based on the novel "THE HUNTER."

When I saw this, I thought it would be totally different than what I expected. But it has a snazzy way of introducing it's plot. There's betrayal, mixed in with a little film noir, smothered in high tycoons and henchmen, not to mention the chinese mob, and a little dash of the porter attitude. Don't get him wrong. Porter used to be a really nice guy, really good criminal too. But now, he's become a force that no one wants to mess with. There are just so many things that make this movie good. Snappy lines, cool suits, flawed characters, the works. And in a movie of this magatude; you gotta have the works, buddy. Enjoy!

dark and dreary, perfect for a revenge movie. payback was shocking from the gruesome scenes such as the hammering of 'piggies' and the ripping of the rings out of the heroine dealer's nose. this movie was great. porter is the man who has almost nothing to lose and won't stop no matter what the cost to get his 70,000 dollars, not 130,000. lucy liu looked great as a pain loving 'working girl'. i just loved how porter made people listen who didn't want to listen. the lack of color adds to the effective crime life scenerio. after all is done, you find it hard not to root for this antihero.

This is a great film with a bad guy that you root for from start to finish. Action packed, and very smart. Great cast too!