PAYBACK
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Several months ago Porter, played by
Mel Gibson, was double-crossed and left for dead
after he participated in a robbery. He wants his
$70,000 share and is willing to burn down or kick
his way through anybody who stands in his way. He
faces bigger and bigger enemies, who intend to
stand between him and his money, but he is tougher
than any of them. And he knows how to play
hardball. It is obvious that whomever Porter faces
is going to come out second. The fresh characters
keep the film watchable, but even a large cast of
veteran actors cannot make this remake of 1967's
POINT BLANK believable. Rating: 4 (0 to 10), 0
(-4 to +4)
Several months earlier Porter (played by Mel Gibson) planned a clever robbery. He was supposed to get a cut of $70,000 as his share. Instead he got nothing but bullets in the back before being left for dead. As the film opens he is being treated by the just about the most nightmarish doctor imaginable. It is a painful scene to watch and will not be the last painful scene by a long shot. It was not easy getting back on his feet, but now he is and he wants his money. But the proceeds of the robbery went to the Syndicate, an organization not generally known for fast and friendly refunds. The harder Porter pushes for his money the harder he is pushed back by people who have the power to push back. But Porter is able to counter-punch for every punch. Along the way we get amusing portraits of hoods with sado- masochistic tastes, crooked cops, prostitutes with hearts of gold, prostitutes who are nothing but greed, and bizarre Mafiosi. This is a film with many bizarre characters, not all as funny as the trailers would have you believe.
PAYBACK had the potential to be a modern OUTLAW JOSEY WALES if the lead had held the film together. But Porter is just not a very well written character. Occasionally he is smart but more often he gets out of trouble by being lucky. Somebody shows up at just the right time, or he is just in the right place because he needed cigarettes. When someone tries to kill him with a bomb he knows to check just the right object in the room. Or over the telephone he hears just the right background conversation. And in a fight he hits harder and shoots straighter than anybody else. In fact he is saved so often by contrivances that the story becomes predictable and one rarely has to watch the film. We just know he will come out all right even if painfully the worse for wear. He is basically Superman and the bad guys do not know it yet, but they are way over-matched. The script was a cooperation between Terry Hayes and Brian Helgeland. Hayes wrote the excellent thriller DEAD CALM. Helgeland (who also directed) wrote the scripts for L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and CONSPIRACY THEORY. He also did work on the script for THE POSTMAN. PAYBACK itself is a remake of POINT BLANK (1967). Here, however, their character's capabilities are just not very plausible and Gibson cannot carry the film the way Lee Marvin did.
Among the familiar faces in all-too-brief roles are William Devane, James Coburn, and Kris Kristofferson. Coburn just lights up the screen. All three are Syndicate members of various ranks. David Paymer is a small-time hood with the wrong friends in the police department. Maria Bello of ER plays Porter's friend and confidant. Ericson Core's camera-work keeps the colors muted, mostly in blues and grays. This has much of the emotional impact of black and white photography, without actually using black and white.
We have seen before the story of the good-guy crook who plays hardball with anyone who gets in his way. For better thrills, the viewer might want to rent the original POINT BLANK. This remake gets a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 1999 Mark R. Leeper
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