Rating: 
Summary: nothing new here
Review: It wasn't bad enough to walk out of, or good enough to get excited about. It's the kind of mindless movie you forget in a day or so. Others have describled the plot; I will just add a few thoughts: (1) constant showers of glass -- are some people still thrilled by breakind safefy glass? (2) Interminable, nothing new chase scene (3)plot holes you could drive the starship "Enterprise" though. When your plot subject matter includes time travel, you should follow the well-known rules perfected by writers over the decades. While I didn't always know what was coming next, the story was given away early on; most damningly, there was an easy fix for Affleck's character that he obviously dismissed because it would have erased the second half of the film.
Rating: 
Summary: This is one Excellent movie!!!
Review: I almost did not go see this movie based on the reviews it was getting, but I went anyway. I am so glad I did. This is one of the best action movies of the year. It feels a little bit like the Bourne Identity, which is a good thing. I liked the clues and finding where and when he was to use them. This movie deserves better reviews. Movies are for fun not to solve world problems, so go and enjoy, I DID!!!
Rating:
Summary: Paycheck ... The Bonus
Review: Thoroughly enjoyable film! I knew little about the content before I saw it other than it came from John Woo whose work I really admire, and had a cast and storyline (the few clips depicted in the trailers) that looked appealing. And it certainly was!!!The film did not let me down ... plenty of action, fast-moving, high tech and cleverly done. It was well acted, and great entertainment...a wonderful way to de-stress from post holiday mania! I've recommended it to my friends and recommend it to you as well...happy viewing!
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Movie I've seen in quite a while!!
Review: Boring and uninvolving are understatements here-but thank you!! I did expect more from John Woo.
LIKE KILL BILL this summer, unfortunately, I couldn't get through this without wondering what the h&ll! happened to Uma Thruman-she looks frightening! Can I possibly be the only one noticing this?!
After visiting every possible late night show to complain about monogamy, did Ethan Hawke finally give her syphilis? Is her hair falling out? What's with the cancer patient/anorexic's deep fried, flat, ruffled and straw-like perm?! Was there a santa ana on the set? She looks like some bizarre dutch tourist! Is the obvious and ultra fake looking bronzer on her cheeks supposed to conceal the fact that smoking through her pregnancies has finally turned her skin to wrinkly bloated leather?
Look I hate to beat some disgustingly geriatic hypocrite like Woody Allen to the punch, but what have the years done to her? Was it the genetic engineering?!
On a positive and more PC note, at least Uma-like some clunky old Cadillac of faded rumbing glory-shows how much closer we've come to reaching more "diverse" notions of beauty. What was once some sort of ideal that nearly erased all others-blond barbarian of monstrous proportions-now seems the freakish extreme it truly is!!
Rating:
Summary: Total Minority Recall Report (part 3)
Review: Poor Mr. Dick. Like many authors before him, it seems he gets his praise only after death. Paycheck isn't necessarily a bad movie, but it's only good enough to make me want to read the book. Paycheck stars our favorite stick of wood who is remarkably un-wooden in his role as Michael Jennings; computer whiz and guru in the art of reverse engineering. Corporate espionage is a dirty business, so Mr. Jennings has to have his memory erased every time he does his job. This tends to be a tricky and somewhat dangerous way to earn a living, but he can't turn down an offer in the range of eight figures (plus stock options) in exchange for two years of his life spent developing a very special machine. There's just one problem. After the job is done, he awakens to find he has signed away his entire fortune in exchange for about 20 household items such as a paperclip and a can of hairspray. It's tough enough to prove you've been swindled when your memory has been erased. It's worse yet, when people are trying to kill you. People said 2003 would be the year of The Matrix. It's more like the year of Uma Thurman. Fresh off the set of Kill Bill, her alien features complement the futuristic role as "the love interest." There's no chemistry between them, but it's not surprising since she stomachs the worst pick-up lines since Affleck did Pearl Harbor. Plot holes are prevalent, such as breaking into Big Scary Corp. to destroy the evil machine only to use it again for some illogical reason. Hollywood has churned out so much implausible garbage that I'm not even affected. My main disappointment was with the only director that I never imagined could make an ultimately boring movie. There's none of John Woo's signature style, save for a "dove through the doorway" sequence. I yawned through the motorcycle chase. He even resorts to amateurish camera shakes to create the illusion something exciting is happening. The story has been done before, from the philosophical future-think paranoia of Spielberg's Minority Report, to the heavy-handed action of Verhoeven's Total Recall. John Woo takes a lot from both and ends up with a lot of neither. So what are you getting? An expensively made interesting idea that's simply standard action fare.
Rating:
Summary: Paranoia in Phil Dick's topsy-turvy world
Review: John Woo's film of Philip Dick's Paycheck lacks the distinctive visual stamp of Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Paul Verhoven (Total Recall)and Steven Spielberg (Minority Report)but it's still a solid, action sci-fi adventure. Woo glosses over most of the moral and ethical implications at the heart of Dick's short story but the basic core of the story is intact. A computer programmer essentially sells chunks of his life; he takes on jobs and volunteers to have his memory erased of what he did. The result is that no secrets are spilled, the client is happy and he's all the richer. The only problem is that his latest job has run into a snafu; people are out to kill him and the payment he expected are a series of worthless items delivered in an envelope. Ahh, but their not really worthless in a plot twist worthy of Doyle, they provide clues to what he did and, perhaps, why someone is trying to kill him. I have to disagree about the Uma-Ben thing; I felt that they had a fair amount of chemistry on screen. Part of the problem is that these are two characters that had an affair and one of them can't recall it so it's like starting all over again in a relationship. I felt that influenced the way the actors played their roles. The stunts are really good and Woo continues to demonstrate a flair for visually exciting projects. Again, the film doesn't have the personality I've come to expect from many of the directors that have made films from Dick's work. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes the film look a bit more generic and, to me, a bit less believeable. Regardless, Paycheck is a cool trip through a funhouse with distorted mirrors, weird slides and the like. It's a great Summer movie which makes me wonder what it's doing in the middle of winter. Perhaps it's counterprogramming and hopefully it will help folks get out to see this interesting and strange movie.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe I expected too much
Review: I should have known not to expect too much from this movie. with John Woo directing I should have known exactly what to expect: car crashes, a million rounds of ammo expended ( with nothing hit), more car chases, more ammo, and just to keep the audience guessing - to my shock - motorcycle chases. Who would have guessed? I was expecting a taut psychological thriller with some action similar to Total Recall or Imposter ( other Phillip K. Dick adaptations) but what we get is a typical Woo. Set up a mysterious and intriguing scenario. sprinkle it with suspense and uncertaintly and begin an almost Hitchcock-ian style premise - then develop none of it. Guns, bombs and car crashes are substituted for plot points. The biggest concern I had for the hero was that all those flying bullets might muss up his hair requiring him to take a time out for the "Queer Eye" guys to touch up his looks. It was okay as an action movie, but it missed so many opportunities to tease the audience like Verhooven did with Total Recall. The movie is by no means dull and boring, but could have been so much more.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good . . . . . . Nothing Great, But Far From Bad.
Review: A lot of people will probably complain that PAYCHECK is nothing but a cheap copy of MINORITY REPORT. While the two films do share quite a few similarities, the fact remains that all of Phillip K. Dick's stories share similarities of some kind or other. These do fit better on the page, though, making all of his works seem connected. On screen, however, it more often than not just makes whatever film it is (in this case, PAYCHECK) seem like a rip-off. Not to say that PAYCHECK is a bad movie. Far from it! It's actually very entertaining at times. Other times, however, it's kinda boring and uninvolving. (Then again, whatever plot or romance John Woo tries to squeeze into his films is always sub-par.) And like I said, it's no MINORITY REPORT (masterpiece!), but it doesn't try to be. Rather, it tries to be a harmless way to spend a few bucks at the movies, at which it succeeds. I don't know what so many people have against Ben Affleck lately. I for one like him; the problem is that he's miscast quite often. But not so much here, even if he doesn't exactly garner Oscar attention. Aaron Eckhart was pretty good, but I just couldn't quite stomach him as a bad guy. And I must say, Uma Thurman is gonna have a really hard time in movies for a while, after KILL BILL and all (another case of pigeon-hole). I did like Paul Giomatti, however (sorry if I spelt his name wrong), who was very good in a supporting role. But acting is not what we go to see movies like this for. The plot keeps you guessing, though things weren't as mysterious as I would have hoped. The action did its job, but it won't knock your socks off; all in all pretty standard fare. When the evil device behind it all was finally revealed, I was very pleased. Really imaginative, if you ask me. One thing I didn't really like about the movie was that it had no style of its own. Every futuristic movie, from BLADE RUNNER, to BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II, to MINORITY REPORT had a style of its own. PAYCHECK doesn't (something that marred THE 6TH DAY, as well). But I shouldn't complain if a movie doesn't try to break any ground. After all, that's what a lot of movies these days get unfairly criticized for. Oh, and I was also confused in that they never told you when the movie takes place. The technology is very advanced, yet everybody is dressed, acts, and talks like modern-day people. Complaints aside, PAYCHECK achieves its goal: to tell a harmless story that keeps you guessing and entertains you.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed but fun science fiction gem
Review: Ben Affleck plays a computer genius who has sold his soul. In exchange for a big pay day, he allows the company employing him to delete his memory after each job preventing him from selling his ideas elsewhere. Selling pieces of his life and his past has become routine; if Jennings (Affleck)is like the rest of us and really just the sum of his experience, his memories, then he has made himself nothing. He's no better or worse off than a robot.He's tempted by one really big job. A billionaire (Aaron Eckart) offers him $92 million dollars for three years work and life that he'll never remember. Three years later, Jennings goes to cash in and discovers he traded in his paycheck for an envelope of trinkets. Suddenly, he's on the run and people are trying to kill him for what he can't remember. Jenning is forced to try and recreate his past using the contents of the envelope as clues. With the aid of Rachel (Uma Thurman)a woman he doesn't recall having an affair with, Jennings tries to discover what he did and it's important enough for murder. John Woo's latest cinematic action piece has all the right elements for a Summer release; it's action packed and has just enough depth to the story to make it a worthwhile investment for audiences. Nicely shot with some great set pieces, Paycheck adheres to the core of Philip K. Dick's original short story pretty well. The screenplay embellishes it in such a way that it's perfect for an action science fiction film (much how Minority Report and Total Recall were altered to fit the mood of their respective directors). The screenplay, despite some plot holes, is pretty good at holding your attention. Affleck and Thurman both turn in nicely detailed performances. While I didn't completely believe their relationship, perhaps part of that is because for Affleck's character it never really happened. Eckert gives an exceptional performance and actually could probably have played the role better than Affleck. While Paycheck isn't flawless, it's got all the right elements for an entertaining, thought provoking popcorn movie. If it isn't quite as memorable as it ought to be, it's probably due to memory wipe.
Rating:
Summary: Paycheck
Review: Ben Affleck is definitely at his best in this thrilling movie. Almost from beginning to end, he is playing the role of "escape artist" and because there are future factors involved (I won't give away anything here)...he is a master at it!! With all the twists and special effects of the movie that just keep going on and on, I was almost exhausted by the end of the film. I do have to tell you this --- the audience applauded for the actors as the film was ending!
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