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Payback

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Payback (1999)

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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]

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Release:

Jul 27, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Payback

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Strictly a Mel Gibson vehicle, and one that doesn't really know what to do with the star's easygoing, audience-pleasing charm.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Walter V. Addiego
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Examiner

This movie is packed with surprises, gunfire and humor; it's a fun action flick you shouldn't miss.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

It is well written, contains a flock of colorful characters, and gives star Mel Gibson a number of great one-liners.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The strangest marriage of '30s noir and '90s hyper-action imaginable, and if the end result is a sort of cartoon, it's a fun cartoon to look at.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Direction is choppy, the interplay between the characters is perfunctory, although not as perfunctory as the unearned ending.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This film is riddled with cliches and impossible situations.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
CNN.com
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

The thin story never generates any genuine excitement.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

There is much cleverness and ingenuity in Payback.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a good, strong shot for fans who like their crime stories rough and no-nonsense.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Fenster
Bob Fenster
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dark, nasty and thoroughly engrossing!

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Sadism is the film's only real subject, and its only real life as well.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Rehashed Quentin Tarantino or a rusted-out Pinto.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Julie Hinds
Julie Hinds
San Jose Mercury News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Its smirking sense of humor and generic self-consciousness suggest that Payback would like to think of itself as a hip descendant of Pulp Fiction. But the movie is utterly devoid of narrative ingenuity and visual and dramatic flair.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film's moral manipulations betray its fascistic heart.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

Too meanspirited and brutal for its own good.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

It quickly slides into a Lethal Weapon without Danny Glover, complete with blowups and wisecracks, gratuitous torture scenes and Gibson in familiar form as the twinkling rascal who makes a virtue out of viciousness.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

It feels more like a lousy Christopher Lambert thriller: all bad jokes, lampoonish villains and gory violence.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
 
 
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