Payback

A stylish noir-gangster movie with a persuasive Mel Gibson in the lead role of a hardened thief, Porter. Helgeland managed to reproduce the exact atmosphere of most of Donald E. Westlake's books (Payback was based on "The Hunter" published under the pseudonym Richard Stark) and shows a world full of villains, junkies, hookers, corrupt cops, sadists and just plain idiots with whom the main character encounters. Accompanied by a sarcastic voice-over monologue, Porter slowly works his way to his seventy thousand dollars which was stolen from him by his partner Val and his wife. The way in which he eliminates all obstacles is simply cool, and you have to keep your fingers crossed for him even if you don't want to. After a while you don’t mind the plot’s predictability, and that you’ve seen this somewhere before, as you get carried away by a world that's as hard as scotch-soaked kidneys, but also damn relatable. My personal Top 20. (11/09/2006)

A brilliantly built-up thriller with a pace that is simply unreal in the second half. And yet so little is enough... Just steal $140,000 (no, sorry, just $70,000) from Mel Gibson and you'll unleash the kind of carousel of murders, shootouts and badass one-liners that we only remember from the first Die Hard. Gibson shines in his role and enjoys it to the fullest, but the supporting characters are also given a memorable portrayal by the actors, whether I'm thinking of the bad guys Henry, Kristofferson and Coburn or the pretty sharp hooker Lucy Liu. Simple, straightforward, harsh – just the way it should be. (23/07/2012)

The brutality suits the noir-themed crime stories well. On the journey for revenge, Gibson, as a tough guy with a steel gaze, loves a beautiful prostitute, seeks out a traitor, and encounters - uh - a sadistic dominatrix leading an Asian gang. I can't remember the last time I used that word, but Payback is a cool movie, with a perfect cold look, and some scenes are amazingly uncompromising in their brutality, but unfortunately, everything is always just tough, and throughout the whole time, I didn't experience any significant twist that would have affected me in any way. Helgeland relies on stylish form, but the essence constantly eludes him. (11/06/2007)

Genre-wise Payback is essentially an unclassifiable film. It doesn't have a classic plot, it doesn't distinguish between good and evil, and it also doesn't map out the actions of the main characters. Mel Gibson is a man of moral principles and that's where it ends, he can't be called either “good” or “bad”, and perhaps that's exactly what makes Payback such a stylish ride. Of course there is also a polished formal side (filters, sets, cinematography) and a few gems (sadomasochism, a parade of bosses, corrupt cops, etc.) that cannot be overlooked and are captivating matter what you think of them. The plot is basically banal, but everything works like a well-oiled machine. Brian Helgeland is damn well aware of the squalor of the material and doesn't give the viewer a chance to realize this fact, bombarding them with one stylized shot after another and with main characters so interesting that it's hard to believe. (09/03/2007)

When it premiered, I gave Payback 4 stars and I must admit with a certain blush that it charmed me in its own way - and I am not a fan of the genre or even Mel Gibson. It is a film made with ease and it is straightforward, simple, genre-pure, and a cool ride where the pace never slackens and the usual clichés are presented tastefully and with a pervasive sense of irony. On the other hand, as the years went by and I read the book, it impressed me much more with its darkness, complexity, and ambiguity. Besides, it is impossible not to notice how the film approaches the character of the violent, murderous, and thieving protagonist, presenting him to the viewer as a likable rascal. This story is hard to believe, and I left behind my teenage years when I would have identified with this portrayal a long time ago. Overall impression: 60%. (27/05/2020)