Payback
**This review is for the theatrical cut only. A later review will look at the “Straight Up Director’s Cut” from 2006, which I have not seen yet.**
It’s a credit to Paramount and Icon Productions that you cannot tell that “Payback” was completely reworked after Brian Helgeland’s original cut was deemed “too dark,” and he was fired, and the film was shaped into something more akin to a typical Mel Gibson movie. We know that because of news reports, and a delayed release, but if someone watched it fresh, I don’t know that they could tell this was not the film the director wanted to release. It feels like a complete movie, even if it’s not as good a movie as it should be.
“Payback” is adapted from the same novel by Donald E. Westlake that John Boorman made into “Point Blank,” with Lee Marvin, but it’s certainly not out of the question to adapt it in a way that allows an actor like Mel Gibson to operate with dark humor and more traditional action sensibilities. And it’s not surprising that this material would appeal to Gibson as an actor- you can tell, in Mad Max and Martin Riggs, that he identifies with heroes who aren’t always perfect, and sometimes, seem to have a death wish. That said, “Payback” felt like a pretty big departure from the “movie star” persona Gibson had cultivated at the time of its release, so it’s understandable why he would be hesitant to do something TOO dark, and “Payback” was made more accessible by the time it hit theatres.
The film starts with Porter, Gibson’s character, on his back as a doctor tries to remove some bullets from his back. He’s been screwed over by an associate (played by the always great Gregg Henry) and his wife (Deborah Kara Unger) over $70,000, and left for dead. He survives, and begins on a rampage through the pecking order of the Syndicate to try and get his money.
Plot synopses are usually longer than that, but truthfully, that’s all you need to get started with “Payback.” Sure, there’s a bit more meat on the bones as Porter reconnects with a hooker he had a relationship with (Maria Bello); gets involved with a low-level drug dealer (David Paymer) and a couple of crooked cops (Bill Duke and Jack Conley), and fights his way up the criminal food chain (which includes William Devane, James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson), but it’s a straightforward pulp B-movie plot, with Gibson at the center. I had forgotten many of the people in this movie, most especially Lucy Liu as a dominatrix, and I’ve got to admit- this is a terrifically cast movie in every way. This is how you utilize great actors in supporting roles around a main star, something that seems out of place in movies like this now. The cast alone is enough to make this a solid entertainment, with the craft (like Ericson Core’s cinematography, and the blue tint it’s given), music (whether it’s the songs used or Chris Boardman’s score) and smart, no-frills writing (by Helgeland and Terry Hayes) just being icing on the cake.
