Payback not much of a payoff
Payback A Film Review By Michael Redman Copyright 1999 By Michael Redman
There's an ancient occult art know as "glamour". Casting a spell of glamour creates an illusion that hides the truth. The enchantment can make the plain appear beautiful and a falsehood seem real. Leading practitioners of glamour in the late Twentieth Century include make-up manufacturers and those guys who create film previews.
Trailers for "Payback" look like a light Mel Gibson shoot-'em-up -- "Lethal Weapon 4 1/2". It's not light. Worse, it's not even entertaining. When the spell of glamour wears off, the truth rears its ugly head and this truth's name is "tedium".
Low-life crooks Porter (Gibson), wife Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger) and buddy Val (Gregg Henry) pull off a successful big-time heist. Successful, that is, until Lynn shoots him in the back. Miraculously Porter survives and he's not happy.
Working his way up the food chain of the crime "outfit," he's looking for his $70,000. In typical Gibson fashion, he gets battered, bruised, shot, crippled and keeps on coming.
This isn't an action film. It's a shoot people in the forehead, smash their feet with a sledge hammer and kick them while they're down film. Then as an added bonus, they do it some more, but bloodier.
There's a feeble attempt to create a noir atmosphere, but it rarely works. It's difficult to care. To have an emotional investment in the characters, the audience has to be able to identify with them. Anyone who can identify with Porter is certainly not someone I'd invite over for dinner.
The one sympathetic person in the film is Rosie (Maria Bello). Unfortunately she's a minor character and an overworked cliche: a high-priced hooker with a heart of gold for her boyfriend.
Remarkably for a movie that's filled with such ultra-violence, it's a dull experience. Although there are a few bits that will make you cringe, there's a sameness to nearly every scene. The exceptions feature Lucy Liu as a flashy S&M dominatrix. These few stylish moments are such stand-outs they feel stapled on from another film.
Your mileage may vary. My companions gave "Payback" the high praise of "not horrible". They were wrong: it is.
(Michael Redman has written this column for over 23 years and has almost recovered from a particularly vicious flu that he didn't enjoy much. Redman@indepen.com)
[This appeared in the 2/11/99 "Bloomington Independent", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at Redman@indepen.com.] -- mailto:redman@indepen.com This week's film review: http://www.indepen.com/ Film reviews archive: http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman Y2K articles: http://www.indepen.com/
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