Payback (1999)

reviewed by
David E. Smith


"Payback" - Mel Gibson and some other schmucks

With an ad slogan like "Get ready to root for the bad guy," it's clear that "Payback" isn't going to be a happy, uplifting movie. But the ads do it a terrible injustice; it is downbeat, and has its fair share of action, but it's also a thoughtful, dramatic, black comedy.

Mel Gibson is Porter, a crook so straightforward he doesn't even need a first name. After he and partner-in-crime Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) commit their latest robbery, Val and Porter's drug-addicted wife (Deborah Kara Unger) shoot him. Always ready to hold a grudge, Porter comes back five months later to get his money. Along the way, he has to deal with crooked cops, drug dealers, and the Chinese mafia, and they all want to kill him (again). The only person he can trust is a hooker (Maria Bello), and his only weapons are justifiable revenge and snappy one-liners.

Set in a blue-hued Chicago, a moody soundtrack and Gibson's periodic voiceovers set the tone and draw the viewer in. Granted, Porter's certainly not a good guy - he picks pockets, steals from panhandlers, and generally does things that ensure him a spot on Santa's `naughty' list. But everyone else in the movie is so much more despicable that you can't help but think they deserve it.

And what they deserve, they it in colorful detail. People get shot and beaten; have their toes hit by a sledgehammer; their sons are kidnapped and their dogs are scarred for life. Not everything is shown explicitly, but the camera and sound are carefully engineered to make an impact on the audience nonetheless.

"Payback" largely relies on the strength of its acting to keep the viewer involved; thanks to Mel Gibson and a strong supporting cast, it succeeds admirably. Gibson has a knack for playing the witty, violent type (as he has done in all the "Lethal Weapon" movies, and even in "The Road Warrior" to some extent), and falls into this role with a professional's grace. And the bad guys - the real bad guys - are portrayed with similar skill by people like William Devane and Kris Kristofferson.

The only short shrift is given to the ladies - there are exactly three of them in the entire two hours, one junkie and two hookers (one with an almost-comical sadomasochism complex). Beyond that, "Payback" is an entertaining amorality play, with plenty of redeeming qualities even if its characters have none.

(This review was originally published in The Capaha Arrow, the student newspaper of Southeast Missouri State University.)


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