Paycheck (2004)
Remember the future
Starring: Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, Michael C. Hall, Peter Friedman, Kathryn Morris, Ivana Milicevic, Christopher Kennedy, Fulvio Cecere, John Cassini, Callum Keith Rennie, Michelle Harrison
Director: John Woo
Running Time: 119 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 12A
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
"Remember the future", crows the tagline on the poster for this latest Ben Affleck vehicle. Remember the future? I'm struggling to remember the film! And it's barely an hour since I watched it! But, if nothing else, 'Paycheck' proves that it is possible for a movie to be completely rubbish and highly entertaining at the same time.
J-Lo's lesser half steps gingerly into the role of Michael Jennings, a top reverse engineer who also happens to be remarkably proficient at hand-to-hand combat - which you just know is bound to come in handy later on. In an opening premise perhaps coming a little too close to fiction mirroring reality, our hero will do anything for a big wad of cash. So, with apparently very little consideration for the consequences, he agrees to work for a shady electronics firm for three years, and then have the memory of the entire experience erased from his noggin.
The trouble is, once the three years are up, he finds the FBI on his tail, a whole bunch of blokes in suits trying to shoot him, and his mammoth fortune replaced by a small brown envelope full of various trinkets - and he can't remember why! Oh no! Whatever will he do? Unfortunately, you'll need to bump up B-Aff's own personal "paycheck" to find out.
'Paycheck' truly is a brainless piece of cinema. Every decision our lead character takes seems to be the least sensible (unless, of course, his aim is to become involved in as many shoot-outs and car chases as possible), and the premise relies on so many daft contrivances that I found myself chuckling when I was supposed to be on the edge of my seat.
But there's little doubting director John Woo's ability to bring smash 'em crash 'em action to the big screen with great effect, and there are a couple of set-pieces in this film that truly are enjoyable. With both Affleck and his co-star Uma Thurman giving us little to get excited about in terms of either chemistry or all-round performance, the action side of things in fact comes as a God-send. Or at least a Woo-send.
It's Got: Affleck out-running a subway train whilst at the same time managing to keep his hair suspiciously well-kempt.
It Needs: Not to be taken remotely seriously - not that anyone will, of course.
Alternatives: Minority Report, Total Recall, The Game, North By Northwest
Summary: Enjoyable, if completely ridiculous, popcorn fodder.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 17th January 2004
External Links
Official Web Site
Paycheck at the IMDB
Comments6 Comments |
| This film deserved better ratings, i think, but then again, what can you expect from a site that considered "back to the future" better than "star wars"? |
| Comment by:- ck | | 22 March 2004 | ip: logged |
| What are you talking about ck? There isn't a review for Star Wars on this site, so surely that's a tad unfair (although, having said that, Back to the Future clearly IS a better film than Star Wars!) |
| Comment by:- Ormond the Wonderdog | | 02 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| The original short story by Philip K Dick deserved a better movie adaptation, but the theme is still there going strong. With that in mind, I think the Matrix did a better job of conveying PKD's notion of "What is reality?" and the rest of the assorted complexities of this philosophical enigma |
| Comment by:- Tariq Walid | | 30 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| This has to be one of the worse movies I had ever seen. The finals scenes when we already knew that the machine would be destroyed and therefore the world would be saved were utterly appalling. With the world saved all that was left to care about was Ben Affleck. Did I care? Hell no. Utter waste of a potentially good storyline |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 23 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| your all fools, his film is a great piece of directing and the story line is fairly good, acting not so, (uma's fit though)plus star wars and bttf are rubbish films. |
| Comment by:- michael ryder | | 03 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| what you on about ruff ryder, paycheck is poorly acted and directed, and star wars rules, so go to hell. bak to the future ain't bad either. |
| Comment by:- spunky | | 03 November 2004 | ip: logged |
