A REVIEW OF "PAYBACK"
by Ryan Ellis
An early winner in 1999 is "Payback". Now, any film with Mel Gibson taking credit as the star is a pretty solid bet to rake in a few bucks, but I didn't expect much from this picture. It's ironic that Mel's character in "Payback" is interested in raking in a few bucks of his own--all $70,000 of it. He stars as Porter (like Madonna or Fabio, it's just a one-word name), a street hood and petty thief. Well, if you can call stealing over $100,000 "petty thievery", that is. Regardless, Porter is essentially a scummy bad guy. Don't forget, the trailers said to "get ready to root for the bad guy". And root for him we do. Porter's voice-over describing himself and his sleazy little life sets up the movie in the opening minutes. It's accompanied by some funky retro music. One of the great aspects of "Payback" is the soundtrack from the era of rather crappy music--the late 70s and early 80s. They never say when this film is set or even where, but the rotary telephones, clothes, and bad make-up indicate that it's from 15 or 20 years ago. Anyway, fresh from being stiffed by his cohort in the heist of $130,000, Porter sets out to retrieve his share of the money. Naturally, the double-crossing partner doesn't just hand over the money when they meet. He gave it to "The Outfit" to buy his way into their mob-like family. If he DID just hand over the money, the killing spree Porter goes on for the next hour of the film in trying to reclaim his $70,000 would never have existed and then where would we be? Director Brian Helgeland's screenplay is witty and revealing. There's a limited amount of needless wisecracking but constant development of the main characters, both Mel and Maria Bello. One of the refugees from "ER", Bello is well-cast as the hooker girlfriend. She is gorgeous (except for the hideous eye-shadow) and believable in the role. Helgeland, who made his debut in the big chair with this picture after co-writing an Oscar-winning screenplay for "L.A. Confidential" in 1997, makes full use of the dialogue and story and he has to. This is not a beautiful movie to look at since Helgeland chose to apply a washed-out look. There is nothing glamorous to show in the world of these slime-balls, but the dull look doesn't mean it's ever dull to watch. Not since "Pulp Fiction" have criminals and low-lifes been glorified in such a wonderful way. Some other highlights of "Payback" are a butt-kicking, S&M lovin' prostitute, several strong supporting performances (from David Paymer, Kris Kristofferson, and James Coburn among others), and that groovy music. Of course, the anchor of this movie is Mel Gibson, one of the top stars in the entire world. You gotta love the smarts and finality of the final effects sequence and Mel's closing lines. This film boasts a dizzyingly high death total and most of the deaths are courtesy of Porter. Still, we're supposed to "root for the bad guy" and we certainly do.
9/10
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