Average Rating: 4.7/10
Reviews Counted: 153
Fresh: 42 | Rotten: 111
Though Dick's short story has an intriguing premise, Woo reduces it to a lot of meaningless chases, shoot-outs, and explosions.
Average Rating: 4.5/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 27
Though Dick's short story has an intriguing premise, Woo reduces it to a lot of meaningless chases, shoot-outs, and explosions.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 145,585
John Woo directs the sci-fi action thriller Paycheck, based on a story written by Philip K. Dick in 1953. Waking up with his short-term memory erased, engineer Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) learns that he has been doing highly secretive work for the last three years in exchange for billions of dollars. But when he tries to get paid, he finds out that he himself had previously exchanged the money for an envelope of random clues to his life. Chased by an FBI agent (Michael C. Hall) and his old
PG-13, 1 hr. 59 min.
Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Dec 25, 2003 Wide
May 18, 2004
$53.7M
Paramount Pictures
All Critics (154) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (118) | DVD (38)
Without ever quite becoming boring, Paycheck seems to narrow into a routine pattern, and a plot that at first had nuance and the hint of a broader meaning degenerates into chases and standard action.
You may not buy everything about this movie, but you'll likely leave it with a smile.
If a movie is going to flout, or at least bend, the laws of the universe, it at least ought to obey its own internal rules.
[Woo] still has pretty much of a tin ear for American performances, so he lets Affleck doze through the starring role. The film feels as if it has no center.
Though the premise is provocative enough, the execution feels like a host of other violent action-drenched movies.
A bloated thriller that runs out of steam long before its final interminable chase.
This movie just sags, even in the action scenes.
It's not necessarily high brow sci-fi, but it is very accessible to the mainstream eye.
This is a movie that tries to look and sound great. It can only manage a microscopic amount of both.
...where Woo takes over as an action director...from then on it's all shoot, run, fight, and chase. (Blu-ray Edition)
Paycheck takes two hours to watch and two minutes to forget.
Playful but inconsequential...the interpretation of Dick's intriguing concept is a street which mostly just dead-ends into noisy silliness. [Blu-ray]
"Paycheck" is a no-brainer action movie with just enough sci-fi thematic input to keep it spicy.
Most of it is very predictable and so obvious and instantly draws us away from the characters because everything here feels very artificial and very staged.
For those who enjoy a ripper of a good yarn, Paycheck is good value.
Bears the mark of Woo
Some remedial script work is in need, and the characters are far from compelling. But the action is up to scratch and it rattles happily along.
There's a sense of treading water about this movie.
It's nice to know that there's a director out there who still knows how to use marquee stars and to blow stuff up real good, without resorting to CGI fakery.
Paycheck is John Woo lite.
A mildly entertaining slice of science fiction that's anchored by some top-notch action.
The film discards serious discussion for Mexican standoffs and action scenes, trading the possibility of complex rewards for simple pleasures.
Not a fan of Ben Affleck or Uma Thurman at all but what I saw was ok. I like the twists and turns as I tried to figure out what had happened to him. At times it felt rather slow and lethargic which ruined the atmosphere. Not something I'd watch again but a good watch for anyone interested in Philip K. Dick and time
October 29, 2011Super Reviewer
'Paycheck' is a film that simply does not know what it is and simply doesn't care. I say that because despite a promising premise, the audience has no idea what is going on through this cluttered mess of a film, and we just don't care at all for the protagonist, played well but unmotivated by an aging Affleck. I guess
January 22, 2011Super Reviewer
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