Tense thriller revolves around a man double-crossed by his colleague and wife seeking only share the loot. ¨Payback is a remake of ¨John Boorman's Point Blank¨ starred by Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Vernon, Lloyd Bochner. This taut and loose reboot titled ¨Payback¨ (1999) was well directed by by Brian Helgeland with nice cast , such as: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry , Deborah Kara Unger , David Paymer , Bill Duke, John Glover, Lucy Liu, Jack Conley; are both based on the book "Hunter" by Richard Stark or Donald Westlake . Porter (Mel Gibson) is ripped off in a heist and left for dead by his unfaithful, junkie wife (Deborah Kara Unger) and best friend (Gregg Henry) and he's not about to take such treachery lying down. The mysterious man named Porter single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him and he seeks reckoning with a strange Organization , a crime syndicate to which he belongs that takes on all comers . Porter becomes obsessed with getting his money back , and he'll take on anyone to who gets in his way. There are two kinds of people in his up-tight world : his victims and his women !. And sometimes you can't tell them apart . No More Mr. Nice Guy !. Get ready to root for the bad guy !. Get ready to cheer for the bad guy!
Noir film dealing with a complex intrigue that contains action , thrills , suspense , violence and high body count. Violent and interesting story grows more exciting with each new plot twist. The source novel is Richrad Stark's The Hunter, previously filmed by John Boorman as Point Blank.¨Point Blank¨ (1967) was the first instance of a film adaptation of a Richard Stark novel about Parker, in which the character is re-named ("Walker"). Parker's creator, Donald E. Westlake, mandated that "Parker" could not be used unless the filmmakers planned a series. This situation also happened with the Mel Gibson film Payback (1999) where Parker became "Porter". Notably, in an early Stark novel, a crime figure can't remember Parker's name, referring to him as "Porter, Walker, Archer, something like that". Main cast is frankly magnificent, such as a sensational Mel Gibson as the man betrayed who becomes determined to exact vendetta on his betrayer, no matter how great the odds, a gorgeous Maria Bello and the nasty Gregg Henry. Director and co-writer Helgeland had a hand in ¨L. A. Confidential¨, so there's a certain amount of pedigree here.
The motion picture was well directed by Brian Helgeland. He's a real professional filmmaking from the 8os , though sparsely scattered and giving various successful films. Helgeland also co-scripted ¨Mel Gibson's Conspiracy Theory¨, a paranoide thriller in the seventies mode but with happy end. Though there are no explicit date references ¨Payback¨ is styled as a 70s film manqué: dial phones, chunky automobiles, desaturated color palette , and funky soul/jazz score by Chris Boardman. The conceit even extends to the secondary cast with such veterans as Kris Kristofferson, William Devane and James Coburn representing the ¨Outfit¨. Helgeland's directing mentor was Richard Donner when they worked together on ¨Conspiracy¨ (1997) and then when Brian started to direct Payback (1999). Helgeland has written, produced or directed decent films, such as: ¨The Ticking Man, A Knight's Tale, The Messenger, The Order, L. A. Confidential, Highway to Hell, 42 (2013), Legend (2015), Finestkind (2023)¨, among others . Rating: 7/10.
Noir film dealing with a complex intrigue that contains action , thrills , suspense , violence and high body count. Violent and interesting story grows more exciting with each new plot twist. The source novel is Richrad Stark's The Hunter, previously filmed by John Boorman as Point Blank.¨Point Blank¨ (1967) was the first instance of a film adaptation of a Richard Stark novel about Parker, in which the character is re-named ("Walker"). Parker's creator, Donald E. Westlake, mandated that "Parker" could not be used unless the filmmakers planned a series. This situation also happened with the Mel Gibson film Payback (1999) where Parker became "Porter". Notably, in an early Stark novel, a crime figure can't remember Parker's name, referring to him as "Porter, Walker, Archer, something like that". Main cast is frankly magnificent, such as a sensational Mel Gibson as the man betrayed who becomes determined to exact vendetta on his betrayer, no matter how great the odds, a gorgeous Maria Bello and the nasty Gregg Henry. Director and co-writer Helgeland had a hand in ¨L. A. Confidential¨, so there's a certain amount of pedigree here.
The motion picture was well directed by Brian Helgeland. He's a real professional filmmaking from the 8os , though sparsely scattered and giving various successful films. Helgeland also co-scripted ¨Mel Gibson's Conspiracy Theory¨, a paranoide thriller in the seventies mode but with happy end. Though there are no explicit date references ¨Payback¨ is styled as a 70s film manqué: dial phones, chunky automobiles, desaturated color palette , and funky soul/jazz score by Chris Boardman. The conceit even extends to the secondary cast with such veterans as Kris Kristofferson, William Devane and James Coburn representing the ¨Outfit¨. Helgeland's directing mentor was Richard Donner when they worked together on ¨Conspiracy¨ (1997) and then when Brian started to direct Payback (1999). Helgeland has written, produced or directed decent films, such as: ¨The Ticking Man, A Knight's Tale, The Messenger, The Order, L. A. Confidential, Highway to Hell, 42 (2013), Legend (2015), Finestkind (2023)¨, among others . Rating: 7/10.