RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Payback
Payback

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Payback (1999)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
51 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:69

Fresh:35

Rotten:34

Average Rating:5.8/10

Consensus: Sadistic violence and rote humor saddle a predictable action premise.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Mel Gibson is Porter, a ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Asian gang. When Porter survives the attack, he makes it his mission to exact revenge on his... Mel Gibson is Porter, a ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Asian gang. When Porter survives the attack, he makes it his mission to exact revenge on his friend, who has used the robbery money to buy his way into a powerful syndicate. Added to the mix are crooked police officers, members of the syndicate, and the Asian gang, who are out for a bit of revenge themselves. Based on the series of novels by Donald E. Westlake, which were translated to the screen previously in John Boorman's POINT BLANK (1967). [More]

Starring: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Deborah Unger

Starring: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Deborah Unger, David Paymer, Bill Duke, William Devane, Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn

Director: Brian Helgeland

Director: Brian Helgeland
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland, Terry Hayes
Producer: Bruce Davey
Composer: Chris Boardman

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jul 27, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Payback

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A solid enough action comedy, albeit one that had a lot of potential to be wittier and darker.

Full Review Source: Calgary Movies | comment Comment
06/21/07
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Calgary Movies

A tough, entertaining homage to the kind of gritty '70s crime film that long ago gave way to a slicker yet tamer form of action movie ... Both the studio's cut and Helgeland's cut work about equally well.

Full Review Source: FulvueDrive-in.com | comment Comment
05/10/07
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/25/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is the seediest studio picture I've seen since TO LIVE OR DIE IN LA. Even the theater floor feels stickier while watching this thing unfold.

Full Review Source: Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/25/05
Moriarty
Moriarty
Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
03/03/05
Stuart Klawans
Stuart Klawans
Nation

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
06/14/04
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Payback has its moments and its thrills, but the payoff just isn't there.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
04/13/04
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
01/09/04
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Leonard Schwarz
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Payback is just Die Hard: Without a Soul.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Ron Wells
Ron Wells
Film Threat

Demonstrates why Mel Gibson is a movie star: He can take mediocre material and through sheer willpower -- not to mention oodles of charm -- make it work.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie squanders its energy on morbid levels of grisly, kinky violence, much of it sexual.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
08/21/02
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

A higher class of thriller.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
40% 40% Surrogates
83% 83% Whip It
29% 29% Gamer
97% 97% The Hurt Locker
81% 81% Michael Jackson's This…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
87% 87% A Serious Man
37% 37% The Time Traveler's Wife
78% 78% Bronson
11% 11% The Stepfather

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Total Recall

Total Recall

Sir Anthony Hopkins best reviewed movies!

Great Directors

Great Directors

Take a trip though Martin Scorsese's career!

Runaways Pictures

Runaways Pictures

Run away with Kristen and Dakota!

Wolfman Clips

Wolfman Clips

Watch out! The Wolfman is back!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tom Cruise Accepts Another Mission: Impossible Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
18
  • Chris Nolan on Board for Dark Knight Sequel -- and Superman Reboot? Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
231
  • Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern Source: Hollywood Reporter
58
  • Fox Moves Forward with 24 Movie Source: HitFix
8
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters III Source: Sunday Mail [UK]
56
  • Captain America News, News, and More News Source: Collider.com
20
  • Taylor Lautner Is Stretch Armstrong Source: MTV
78
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
288
  • Percy Jackson Star (Briefly) Rumored for Spider-Man Reboot Source: Hollywood Reporter
35
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
140
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Jeff Bridges' Best Movies
114
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Finally Toppled by Dear John
103
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
96
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
70
  • Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe
35
  • Friday Harvest: The Last Airbender, The A-Team, and more!
27
  • Critics Consensus: From Paris With Love Is Not Bon
22
  • Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose
17
  • Total Recall: Anthony Hopkins' Best Movies
17
  • Awards Tour: Pixar and Disney Rule The Annies
15
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Oscar Nominee Gabby Sidibe Talks Precious
20
  • One Man's Quest To Find The Worst Movie Ever
7
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
77
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
3
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
13
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Payback at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Payback at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Celebrity Yearbook Photos
Celebrity Yearbook Photos External Link

Check out PopEater's collection of childhood photos of celebs, from Tom Cruise to Kim Kardashian.

Who Will Win the Oscars?
Who Will Win the Oscars? External Link

TIME's Richard Corliss pores over the Oscar noms for the major awards and offers his take on who will win.

Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness?
Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness? External Link

For a different take, the AV Club delves into why awards season is terrible.

Who's the Razziest?
Who's the Razziest? External Link

Moviefone has put together a list of the actors with the most Razzie noms ever.

Mass Effect Movie?
Mass Effect Movie? External Link

Hollywood.com makes a case for a big screen adaptation of popular game Mass Effect.

Promos
Get the Flixster App Now!
Get the Flixster App Now! External Link

Download it from iTunes and get Tomatometer scores straight to your iPhone!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.