Review of Payback

Introduction

Remakes, what`s the point? I`ve often asked myself that when I encounter films like Tim Burton`s Planet Of The Apes, or hear about desecrations of Get Carter or The Italian Job. But on occasion they do get it right, producing films that are entertaining and fresh in their own regard. From all accounts, Point Blank, a film I have yet to see myself, was a film that hardly needed to be remade, being in its own right a classic thriller. Yet here is Payback, itself based on the same novel. Is this a remake that bucks the trend and actually is good?

Payback marked a turning point in my viewing habits. This was the last time that I actually shelled out money for a videotape of any kind. A few months later, I was the happy owner of a DVD player and my shelves were beginning to fill with a whole new media library. Anyway, this is the DVD that replaced that final VHS so long ago.

Porter is an armed robber, with a curious code of honour all of his own. When his partner Val Resnick comes to him with a scheme to steal from a Chinese syndicate, he seizes the opportunity. But Resnick has plans for that money that doesn`t include Porter, and he enlists Porter`s wife to betray him. Left for dead, Porter swears revenge and after several months of convalescence, he returns for his $70000. By now, Val has used the money to buy his way into the `Outfit` and is living the easy life of organised crime. Seeing Porter back from the dead is going to give him a bad day, but Porter will get his money back if he has to go through every member of the `Outfit` to get it. It`s harder than it looks though, as in his way are various other street gangs, crooks, bent cops and lowlifes.

Video

This particular disc is a two-sided single layered disc. Side A has the film in a 1.33:1 regular ratio, while Side B has the same but in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. It`s an indication of my priorities that when I bought the disc, the regular version never worked on my player, while the widescreen version did. I never even bothered replacing the disc. The picture is in great shape, with a sharp and strong image. Payback used the same Bleach Bypass process that worked so well with Minority Report to really enhance the noir feel of the film. Chicago looks very stylish with its strong blues and a shadowy feel. There is a minor hint of print damage, but this is a very good transfer for a single layer disc.

Audio

The sound is presented in DD 5.1 English, and it`s an immersive surround track, subtle and not too showy, but vibrant and powerful when it counts. The music has a nice selection of Brat Pack style tunes with just a smidgen of Jimi Hendrix to boot.

Features

The short and insubstantial extras on this disc are the interview clips. You get three minutes of Mel Gibson complete with comedy beard, a minute apiece of Maria Bello and James Coburn, and two minutes of the divine Lucy Liu. Presented in a 1.33:1 regular format, they are in the form of soundbites and hardly last long enough to provide any insight about the film. There are also subtitles for the movie in a nice selection of languages

Conclusion

As I said, I haven`t seen the original, so I`m not in a position to do a compare and contrast, but taken by itself Payback is a great piece of entertainment, worthy of a place on any DVD shelf. Mel Gibson plays against type as a remorseless cold-blooded robber who has no qualms about dishing out violence. His portrayal of Porter is understated and quiet, and he lets the violence of the character speak for himself. The antagonist of the piece Val, played by Gregg Henry, deliciously contrasts him, with a scenery chewing performance as the bad-der guy. (All the characters in the film are to a degree morally reprehensible, so defining a good guy is hard) The rest of the characters are just as vividly painted, Bill Duke and Jack Conley are wonderfully amoral as a pair of crooked cops, William Devane`s Carter has an annoying habit of embellishing his words, so to speak, with inappropriate aphorisms, Kris Kristofferson has a great role as the head villain, but an absolutely flamboyant performance from James Coburn steals the show.

However the female roles are for the most part merely token. Deborah Unger has a brief role as Porter`s junkie ex-wife, and Hollywood once again wheels out the prostitute with a heart of gold cliché for Maria Bello as Rosie. But fear not, for Lucy Alexis Liu has her breakthrough role here as Pearl, an amazing leather clad dominatrix that will have men wincing and crossing their legs in sympathy the world over.

Payback doesn`t quite work. A quick look at IMDB shows that director Brian Helgeland didn`t complete the project, and a third of the film was shot, or re-shot after he left. Helgeland`s original cut was apparently far grittier and darker than the finished product and certainly more brutal. Yes, Payback is bloody and violent, but that violence has been tamed to a degree that wit and style far outweighs the brutality. There is a needless voiceover that slows the pace down, and Payback feels substantially longer than its 97 (PAL) minute running time. Also Porter has a couple of scenes that attempt to show his tender side with Rosie, and that softens up the character a little too far, and Porter becomes a little too similar to the myriad of psycho nuts that Mel Gibson has played in his career. Cine-perfectionists should note that the BBFC have cut Payback by 5 seconds to remove a scene with a butterfly knife (Whatever that is).

As a gritty piece of modern film noir, Payback is a glorious failure, but a wonderful style and a witty script do much to redeem it. Add to that some great set pieces and a tongue in cheek sense of humour, and it begins to feel like a live action Warner Brothers cartoon, and I mean that in a good way. Payback is funny and entertaining, which is why I have no qualms in recommending it.