Rating: 
Summary: A good film
Review: this is a very good movie filled with action and suspense and style. A lot of people did not like this movie because of the ultraviolence but there is a reason for it people are after him and he has to kill them before they kill him. And if you don't like violence stay away its a good movie but you half to like those type of crime films good but not for everybody. This film has strong violence which may be offensive to some people this film is not for kids.
Rating:
Summary: Way Better Than The Orignel
Review: Mel Gibson is great in this hard hitting graphicly violent crime drama. This one is way better than the orignel starring Lee marvin which was not good at all it was not faithful to the novel and to the charcter. The new version however is well adaptated and very well done the script and direction and style is great and works very well with the story. But some people wont like this movie they will think the violence goes no where and the charcters and acting are not good. But you half to look at the film like the director wants you to see it is you where left for dead wouldent you go after the people who did it to you. You are not suppose to like the charcters they are all evil its time to route for the bad guy. This film contains extremely graphic ultraviolence,strong language,graphic drug use,and some strong sexuality.The violence is some of the most graphic ever filmed this film is for no one under 17.
Rating: 
Summary: Casting was good, but....
Review: I do not like an action movie like this style. Anyway, when it comes to playing tough guys, Mel Gibson usually manages to remain a good guy, no matter how violent, psychotic, or barbaric his character. After all those years of playing a nice guy, he finally has a chance to play something different. In Payback, Mel is one of the bad guys, but make no mistake, he is still the hero. Gibson plays a robber named Porter, who at the start of the story is having bullets surgically removed from his back. It seems like an occupational hazard. Play for the bad guys long enough, and eventually you will wind up regretting it. However, as Porter tells us, five months of lying around did not exactly change his disposition. If anything, it made him angry.
Porter, now healed and fueled by thoughts of revenge, attempts to find his partner, Val and retrieve the $70,000 stolen from him. There is no finesse, greasing of palms, or clever detective work. Porter is not a subtle man. Once he gets a lead, he follows it, heedless of the danger or the people who are members of a syndicate known as "the Outfit" that he is confronting. There is desperation in every play Porter makes, as if he does not care if he lives or dies any more. His wife has overdosed on heroine. His former lover, Rosie is a hooker. Two crooked cops are watching every move he makes, determined to steal the money from him if he can find it. In addition, to make matters worse, Val has told the Japanese gangsters from whom they stole the money that Porter was behind the whole thing. Finally, this is a Hollywood movie which is always think about box-office power, and always main character is superhuman, nice and has all good things. Sometimes it is very unrealistic and childish like this film. Mel Gibson, actually he play an ill-matched character in this film. It is an uninteresting film except some interesting casting. For example, James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson who usually had played in Action movies. Deborah Unger, she played in ¡°Crash (1996)¡±. She was very impressive. Lucy Liu, she played in ¡°Charlie¡¯s angels (2000).
As a whole, it is not particularly good.
Rating: 
Summary: Mel's worst since "Mad Max"!
Review: Any of the respect Gibson earned as a legitimate actor was quashed for me when he decided to star in this horrible, violent, pathetic movie! For a start, do you really care about any of the characters in this movie? Let me ask you the question another way? Do you feel any love for the drug-dealers, prostitutes, perverts, killers, rapists, thieves or any of the other low-life scum that make our cities the "beautiful" places that they are? This film seems to expect you to! There is no one you can really care for, but even so, after the first half of the film, which is just a glorification of mindless violence (and we wonder why kids are getting so violent!!!), in the most unsubtle and unbelieveble way possible, the story tries to make up place our sympathy with Mel and his call-girl "friend". No. it just doesn't wash! The first half seems serious in a way, but the second half just degenerated into parody! It starts to get so ridiculous, what with all the things Mel goes through to get back his 70 grand, when he could have much more. What sort of a criminal is he anyway? Not a very bright one by any means! A total disappointment. Put any lesser-known actors and actrices in this and you know that this wouldn't have made it anywhere.
Poorly directed, pooly acted mindless violence! Oh, and another thing, just because it has Gibson, Coburn and a couple of other well known faces in it, that does NOT make it a good film. But what the hell! Watch it just to see how right I am!
Rating:
Summary: Weeellll...
Review: ...I am a rather emphatic Mel Gibson fan. But, I think this movie could have been better if Mel had just been a little more trusting in the moviegoing public, and gone the whole nine yards with the ruthlessness of his character. Perfect example: Stegman: "You're not gonna kill me, are ya?" Porter: "Well, not in front of these kids." WHAT??? The character I know, Parker from the Westlake novels; Parker, the ruthless ice-cold professional embodied by Lee Marvin in "Point Blank"; he would've bitchslapped Porter for even thinking "Not-in-front-of-these-kids" and kicked him to the curb. Unnecessary heroism aside, this a pretty good movie, with Mel as the irrepressible, slightly off-center goofball he's played in all his crowd-pleasers, but tightened up a notch here. Aside from him, the other main strength is the great ensemble: James Coburn, David Paymer, Bill Duke, Kris Kristofferson, Maria Bello, and Bill Devane. Also, from personal experience, it's a great compromise for the Saturday movie nights when you and your girlfriend can't agree on what to watch. This flick has something for each of you: Mel Gibson in a romantic subplot for her; Mel Gibson, goofy laughs, and mind-numbing violence for you! Perfect!
Rating:
Summary: One of Mel's best movies!
Review: This movie is one of Mel Gibsons best movies.
The movie is an excelent action movie with a lot of humor.
I watched this movie already 5-6 times and it still remains interesting for me. I have a couple of DVD's and videos which I bought and only watched 1-2 times and this DVD is for sure not one of them. I can watch it over and over again. Added to my Mel Gibson "watch-it-again" list are Braveheart, Lethal Weapon 1-3 (NOT 4) and the Mad Max (1-3) movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Violent entertainment
Review: As brutal and graphic as this movie is (it's not for the squeamish) I really enjoyed it. There is something about getting revenge, getting even and sticking it to the other guy that really appeals to the dark side of us all. Of course in the movie it is really bad guys that are "getting it" so we don't feel quite so bad rooting for Gibson to get um where it hurts. A lot of people die in this flick, and to be honest it has absolutely no redeeming social value, it is just entertaining.
The basic story line is that Gibson gets screwed out of some money by a "friend" and the money ends up going to the mob. He wants his money back and is willing to kill and/or die to get it. Simple plot. A lot of violence.
If you enjoy a hard action flick and aren't offended by violence, swearing and a few sexual situations (but not really very graphic ones) than you'll enjoy the entertainment value of this movie. If you want a "thinking movie" look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: get ready to root for the bad guy
Review: o.k. mel gibson is a bad guy in here but during the movie he acts like he is a good guy even though he is not. mel and his bud rob some money from these chinese people. the problem is that mel's friend needs at least 140,000 to pay off some people. and all that is in the case is 70.000. so mel's friend shoots him and takes off with the money. and that is when mel arranges for payback. the movie is very good and the ending is very violent but i don't wan't to spoil it for you. rated r for strong violence,language,drug and sexual content
Rating:
Summary: This one pays off!
Review: I first caught this right at the beginning as it was coming on one of the cable channels, and was hooked into the story instantly................... From the opening of Mel having bullets removed from his back by a degenerate drinking the same Whisky he sterilizes with, up until the very end (can't ruin that with a discription in case you've not seen it)...this one kept me riveted. The strangely blue smokey color quality throughout the film, only seems to add to the hard-boiled atmosphere of gritty N.Y.City, heat rising and making a clock ripple in a mirage, letting you know just how hot the action will get. .................. The characters are very well drawn. Porter, our anti-hero, who we find out by flashback how he got to be so determined to get back 70K; is a career criminal who has fine-tuned his craft to an art form. He seems to effortlessly pick pockets, bang out stolen credit cards, and pawn swag for the cash and hardware he needs to obtain his "share" in a heist with Val Resnick (Gregg Henry). Val is a man who loves pain, giving it, and getting it too. He is valued by the "Outfit" for his "sadistic lack of compunction". His domiatrix galpal, portrayed by a hilariously over the top Lucy Liu is similarly inclined. Add 2 crooked DTs and the cab dispatcher/heroin dealer they shake down, plus other assorted amusing "bad" guys, all played by well known actors, and you can't miss. John Glover, (maybe you know him as the man who loved to call Roy Scheider "sport" in John Frankenhimers "52 Pick-Up"), has a minor role as William Devanes right hand man, but my favorite cameo was veteran actor James Coburn. After finding out "Carter" played by Devane, is dead, he says to Porter, "Probably better off anyway, poor buck-toothed ...!!" Hilarious!! I also loved Lucy, Liu that is, when her Pearl dominatrix character beats up her boytoy Val , and says "Love you baby, long time", as she kicks him where no man can take it. ...........Needless to say, a staple I've watched over and over. This is definitely one of my top favorite action movies. It will become one of yours too.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the good guy?
Review: An ordinary viewer of action films knows the deal about these films: some plot, some acting and the rest filled up with explosions, bullets, bad languange ect. Well, to be perfectly honest, this one is not much of an exception; however it is highly entertaining. The story is quite good: We have this guy Porter, who has no respect for the law. He earns his life out of robbery and similar scores, taking money from homeless doesn't seem wrong to him, and obviously he has no problem about killing people. All these years of service and what does he get? A stab in the back from his partner and wife. After he pulls himself together, he decides that he needs to get his revenge and take back the money that was taken from him. He finds and kills his old partner, he finds and kills his old partner's boss but he can't get nothing except new people to kill. As we said in the beginning, he has no respect for the law; no suprise that the law has no respect for him either. He gets two cops on him as a burden, interested in the money he's after rather than arresting him. What makes this movie five stars is that you never get bored watching this film. The acting is good, directing is okay and visuals are nice too. The humour in the movie is worth mentioning, nice balanced and fits perfectly in the spot. Yeah, the plot is dark, characters are dark but when did dark approach became something to complain about? You can enjoy this movie when you're not in the mood for anything heavy. Even if you hate action movies, see this one for at least one time.
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