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PAYBACK
Directed by Paul Abascal & Brian Helgeland
Written by Terry Hayes & Brian Helgeland,
based on the novel The Hunter by Richard Stark
Starring: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello,
Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn
My Advice: It's up to you.
Rating:  out of
Oh, Mel. <sigh> I'd rather see you in Lethal Weapon Nine
instead of drivel like this.
Porter (Gibson), is having a really tough day when we meet him
in the beginning of his movie. In fact, so tough a day he's having a couple of bullets pried out of his back. That
beats my worst day ever.
Feeling unjustly robbed of seventy thousand dollars, he's seeking
revenge and sets out to gain his money back. I had a problem with this from the onset. A thief who feels thieved.
And not even a nice thief at that. When I saw the movie Gross Point Blank, even though I knew the main lead was
dispicable and what he did was reprehensible, he was still such a delightfully animated character I didn't care.
I still wanted the lovable loser to win. Not in this movie. Mel's Porter is such a heinous and repulsive character
you'll never develop the bond that makes the movie worth watching. If you truly feel nothing at all for the lead,
how can you expect to even care what happens next?
The plot seemed slow and the abusiveness exaggerated. There
are no surprises along the way and everyone pretty much gets what they justly deserve but, you know what? You just
won't care. It's two plus hours of unappealing people in unappealing situations complaining about unappealing things.
I think, for me, that sums it all up.
Unappealing.
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