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Payback
1998
Mel Gibson plays Porter, a ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Oriental gang. When Porter survives the attack, he makes it his mission to exact revenge on his friend, who has used the robbery money to buy his way into a powerful syndicate. Added to the mix are crooked police officers, .. Read more
| Starring | Mel Gibson, James Coburn, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello |
|---|---|
| Director | Brian Helgeland |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller |
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Payback
Mel Gibson plays Porter, a ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Oriental gang. When Porter survives the attack, he makes it his mission to exact revenge on his friend, who has used the robbery money to buy his way into a powerful syndicate. Added to the mix are crooked police officers, members of the syndicate, and the Oriental gang, who are out for a bit of revenge themselves. Bloody and violent.
| Starring | Mel Gibson, James Coburn, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, William Devane, Bill Duke, Kris Kristofferson, Deborah Kara Unger |
|---|---|
| Director | Brian Helgeland |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 37 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 41 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller |
| Language | English |
| Subtitles | Arabic, English |
| Released | DVD: 20 Sep 1999 Blu-ray: 28 Sep 2009 Production year: 1998 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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The source material that provided Lee Marvin with an unforgettable role in John Boorman's critically acclaimed Point Blank (Donald E Westlake's The Hunter, written under the pseudonym Richard Stark) is here expertly recycled for the solid directing debut of LA Confidential writer Brian Helgeland. Mel Gibson stars as violent antihero Porter, a professional thief who seeks revenge when his wife and crime partner double-cross him during a successful hold-up of some Chinese gangsters and leave him for dead. Things get messy when his quest to retrieve his share of the loot puts him in contact with high-ranking crime bosses and bent cops. Helgeland handles the high-octane action with flair, intelligence and lethal doses of sardonic wit to deliver a cool-as-ice thriller with a very dark and violent centre.
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Porter (Gibson) is the sort of guy who'll steal the notes from a blind beggar. Ripped off in a heist and left for dead... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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15 out of 16 people found this review helpful
Ruthless action
Mel Gibson plays Porter, the Man with One Name, a thief who is literally shot in the back by his partners and left for dead. As if that wasn't insult enough they take $70,000 that was his cut of the job. Payback is Porter's obsessive pursuit of his money.
Porter is an amoral thief who will hurt (or more likely) kill anyone who stands in the way of what he wants. Yet by focusing on his principles (he ?only? wants the $70,000) and showing him hurting either those more wicked than himself or anonymous random victims he is presented as a kind of hero.
What is compelling is the single-minded ruthlessness of the character who does exactly one imagines would have to be done if you actually wanted to take on a criminal syndicate. Forget the noble hero who won?t shoot his opponent in the back, we all know that in reality he wouldn?t last five minutes. If Porter finds his man on the ground he gives him a good kicking to make sure he stays there. He kills without compunction subjecting moral considerations to the needs of his mission. It is this self-consistent brutality that makes the film work. Only a man like Porter would get into such a situation and survive.
The film is peopled with a gallery of vile characters who are each portrayed to a t. Mario Bello plays the hooker with a heart perfectly and Greg Henry as Val Resnick is a monster pure and simple, but it is the triumvirate of Carter (William Devane), Fairfax (James Coburn) and Bronson (Kris Kristofferson) who collectively give Porter a foe of suitable gravitas and menace. Throw in Lucy Liu?s unforgettable dominatrix and you have quite a concoction.
If you ever wished you could throw restraint to the wind and do whatever it takes then Porter is your man.
Probably the only flat note is a rather cheesy voice over performed by Gibson in a stereotypically gruff voice but since it smacks of self-parody it doesn?t distract overly. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
PAYBACK.
Payback stars the talented Mel Gibson (Ransom) - What was supposed to be a routine robbery turns into a double cross when Porter's wife and his best friend shoot him and leave him for dead. But things take a turn for the bizarre when Porter mends and then seeks revenge for the money he was tricked out of. Only to learn that the money is now in the hands of a crime organization. He's determined to get the money back and his many encounters include his less than likeable ex-partner, a sniveling crook, two corrupt cops, a brutal dominatrix, and one very lethal crime boss, Worth While Seeing. Great!
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Payback - BLU-RAY Version
Mel Gibson plays Porter, a ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Oriental gang. When Porter survives the attack, he makes it his mission to exact revenge on his friend, who has used the robbery money to buy his way into a powerful syndicate. Added to the mix ...
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