Payback is a
fantastic film—they don’t make movies like this anymore. It’s about the
determination of a man who refuses to be cheated out of what’s rightfully his.
When a man has nothing to lose, he can bring down an empire. That’s the essence
of Payback—a man who brings hell to everyone because he wants the money that
was stolen from him. Keep in mind, that money was his share from the money he
and his partner had stolen from someone else.
The person who
drives this movie home is Mel Gibson. It’s sad that the director, Brian
Helgeland, didn’t get to finish the movie he started. He originally aimed for a
darker tone (which both Gibson and the studio didn’t like, so he was let go).
After some heavy reshoots (which significantly increased the budget), good
editing, and a rewritten script, the final theatrical cut is the one for me.
They made the movie easy to follow by adding narration from Gibson’s character,
Porter.
The action in
the movie is top-notch and enjoyable. What makes this film stand out is how it
stayed true to the comedic crime thriller it set out to be, without wasting
time on a sex scene or a prolonged romantic subplot. That’s what makes Payback
fun to watch and rewatch.
So who is
Porter? Porter is a criminal who carries out heists with his partner, Val
Resnick, and his wife, Lynn. During one heist, Val convinces Lynn to shoot
Porter in the back. That’s where the movie begins—Porter recuperating from two
gunshot wounds to the back. Val and Lynn expected him to die, but Porter
survived.
He returns to
his hometown to seek revenge on Val and Lynn and to get his money back. Upon
his return, he finds that Lynn is now a shadow of herself, wasting away, and
Val has moved up in the criminal world. He’s paid the necessary sum to join a
criminal empire known as "The Outfit."
None of this
deters Porter, who goes after Val and "The Outfit" for his share of
the money he and Val stole—$70,000. It’s an amount he has to constantly remind
everyone about.
The comedic tone
and the somewhat happy ending are definite pluses for this movie.
The film is
based on a 1962 book called The Hunter by Richard Stark. The script closely
follows the main story arc of the book, with a few added characters, an
increased money amount, and changes to the names of the lead (from Parker to
Porter) and some other characters.
I’ll definitely
be watching Payback again.
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