Payback

Rating:
Summary: Senseless plot and violence
Review: "getting back to someone" pretty much sums up the whole movie. Nothing much else. Although I like many of Mel Gibson's movies, this one was let down by senseless violence and plot. His acting is fine, but the plot is very shallow and does not make any logical sense beside getting "payback". Another one time rental.

Rating:
Summary: Great film. Sorry, but that's the only way I can put it.
Review: This cripple is sitting on the ground up against a wall screaming at the people who pass by him "Help a Veteran of Vietanam walk again." and people are throwing money in his cup. Porter (Mel Gibson) walks up to the man and picks up the cup and proceeds to take the dollar bills from it. Immediately the Vet rises to his feet to get his money back. With that Porter let's out "I just cured you." and walks away. It is scenes like that that make this movie so cool. At a certain part of the film you find out that Nixon is in the White House, which means this story would have had to have taken place in the early 1970s yet some of the places Porter goes has a very 1990s feel to them and in one scene there is a Chevrolet Suburban and that vehicle wasn't available until after the 1970s were over. So some parts of this film are just a little confusing (not the actual story just the time that this movie was supposed to have taken place is confusing). Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn make up a stellar supporting cast. This movie is for you. Yes you. Go out and buy this film and you will own the best revenge movie of all time.

Rating:
Summary: This one has it all!
Review: Loved this one; I've already seen it four times, and I will probably watch it four hundred and four times. Gibson rocks, and is appropriately world weary, and resigned to his fate. Loved Coburn. Since I always feel like slapping Kris K. around, I was pleased that Gibson did it for me. My only complaint: are crooks really so stupid that they will go into a room that they've booby trapped to see why someone doesn't answer the phone?! That one begs for a really big suspension of disbelief that even I couldn't manage! Everyone I've talked to, who has seen this, mentions the same thing. This one will keep you interested all the way through. Buy it now!

Rating:
Summary: Mel Gibson is the whole film.
Review: If it wasn't for MG, the film would be another one of those revenge flicks. But Mel makes the film a stylish film-noir type piece. He must be one of those rare film actors who makes bad guys likeable (along with Robert De Niro, Chow Yun-Fat and Andy Garcia).

Rating:
Summary: Film Noir With a Twist
Review: Lot's of action. Everybody has an evil side in this movie. A little violent and times, but great fun overall. This is film noir with a touch of comedy.

Rating:
Summary: True adventure on screen.
Review: Not often do you see a film where the good guy wins by doing much the same thing as the bad guys. I really enjoyed this movie

Rating:
Summary: To those that hate this movie:
Review: Richard Stark created the Porter character in the 60s. He was a master theif, but ALWAYS the anti-hero... NEVER the bad guy. There were MANY books written, and then 23 years later, he resurected him with Comeback. Payback is a remake of one of the earlier novels (although i cannot remember it's title). It is a great film, and i enjoyed it thoroughly.

Rating:
Summary: A Principled Man.
Review: 'Payback' comes as close as Hollywood dare to depicting life on the street for the professional crook. Mel Gibson is a superlative tough guy character actor without a capable film industry. With an extra 20lb and aged ten years he would have made a great DeNero alternative in 'Heat' and 'Ronin'. The movie captures the feeling of the NYC urban decay of the seventies, through music, script and prop, but continuity robs the film of it's credibility (catch the Chrysler Neon cruising by). A good action film, a story well told by hard men, bigtown hustle made art, the pathos of life in the 'business', a fight to maintain some kind of personal principle in a sewer of deceit. There are many stories in this film. Worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Gritty Action Movie with an Even Better Anti-Hero
Review: This might be Mel's best acting job yet. OK so the plot was weak, but if you are watching an action flick for "Plot Integrity" then you are just plain misguided. The movie set and soundtrack were very stylistic and lent to a great overall vibe. This "Anti-Hero" character was one of the best I have seen. Definitely worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: The last true film noir of the century
Review: "Payback" truly separates the wheat from the chaff, the intellectual from the psuedo-intellectual, the self-styled film snobs from the true film lovers. Those who dismiss "Payback" as just another excessivly violent Mel Gibson action vehicle don't know film, film history, or black comedy. A pity that they are too self-absorbed and spoiled to appreciate the fact that "Payback" is one of the finest tributes to the film noir genre to ever hit celuloid, and probably the last film noir we'll see in this century. "Payback" is to Mel Gibson what "True Grit" was to John Wayne. Like Wayne in "True Grit," Gibson provideis an amusing parody of... himself!!! ... the tough-guy action hero he usually plays. except this time out, he's no hero, but a complete criminal with no redeming qualities, lest of all intelligence. Yet, you can't help but still like his character. "Payback" is excellent filmmaking craftmanship and much of the credit must go to director Brian Helgeland.