It's natural to have low expectations when watching a remake of a top class movie but in this update of John Boorman's "Point Blank" (1967), sufficient changes have been made to give "Payback" its own distinctive style whilst still retaining the toughness and coldness of the original. Right from the start, its washed-out colour palette effectively evokes the classic film noir look and the addition of a world-weary narration also contributes to the rather ominous atmosphere of the piece.
Predictably, for a revenge thriller, there's plenty of action, violence and explosions and a whole gallery of colourful characters that include gangsters, prostitutes and crooked cops. The dialogue is also brilliant throughout and ranges from a typically hardboiled voice-over to some darkly humorous one-liners.
Following a heist in which some Chinese gangsters were relieved of $140,000, Porter (Mel Gibson) is betrayed by his two accomplices when his wife Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger) shoots him in the back, leaves him for dead and takes off with his partner Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) and all the loot. After having bullets removed from his back by a whisky-drinking "doctor" and taking five months to recuperate, Porter sets out for revenge and to recover his cut from the heist which amounts to $70,000. His mission is complicated however, because soon after he traces his drug-addicted wife, she dies from a heroin overdose and then he learns that Resnick is unable to pay up because he'd needed $130,000 to repay a debt he owed to a crime syndicate known as "the outfit".
With the help of Rosie (Maria Bello), an outfit-connected call girl for whom he used to act as a driver and bodyguard, Porter then pursues the repayment of his money with incredible determination and despite being beaten up and tortured at different stages, remains totally single-minded as he confronts a whole series of the outfit's mobsters. Inevitably, his endeavours eventually bring him into a confrontation with the outfit's top man who's the only one who actually has the authority to repay him but, of course, has no intention of doing so, especially after Porter kidnaps his son.
Porter, who's only known by his surname throughout the whole movie, is introduced as a despicable anti-hero who steals money from a street beggar, picks the pocket of a random man in the street and steals cigarettes from a woman who works in a diner. He's regarded as insane by all the mobsters who think that the risks he takes in pursuit of a mere $70,000 are absurd. He obviously sees things differently though because, in his mind, what he's doing involves a matter of principle and this provides the movie with a running joke as, at various times, members of the outfit talk about making higher payments only for Porter to reiterate that the sum he's pursuing is just the $70,000.
Mel Gibson is well-suited to his role as he's convincingly tough and violent but also adds a certain tongue-in-cheek quality which distinguishes his performance from that of Lee Marvin's in "Point Blank". The rest of the cast is also very good with Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn and William Devane all standing out and Lucy Lui absolutely sensational as a highly-enthusiastic, leather-clad dominatrix whose sudden outbursts of violence are both physically impressive and comical at the same time.
"Payback" is visually strong, nicely paced and features some well-executed action sequences. It's thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and despite not reaching the standards set in John Boorman's original, is enjoyable, full of atmosphere and well worth watching.
Predictably, for a revenge thriller, there's plenty of action, violence and explosions and a whole gallery of colourful characters that include gangsters, prostitutes and crooked cops. The dialogue is also brilliant throughout and ranges from a typically hardboiled voice-over to some darkly humorous one-liners.
Following a heist in which some Chinese gangsters were relieved of $140,000, Porter (Mel Gibson) is betrayed by his two accomplices when his wife Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger) shoots him in the back, leaves him for dead and takes off with his partner Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) and all the loot. After having bullets removed from his back by a whisky-drinking "doctor" and taking five months to recuperate, Porter sets out for revenge and to recover his cut from the heist which amounts to $70,000. His mission is complicated however, because soon after he traces his drug-addicted wife, she dies from a heroin overdose and then he learns that Resnick is unable to pay up because he'd needed $130,000 to repay a debt he owed to a crime syndicate known as "the outfit".
With the help of Rosie (Maria Bello), an outfit-connected call girl for whom he used to act as a driver and bodyguard, Porter then pursues the repayment of his money with incredible determination and despite being beaten up and tortured at different stages, remains totally single-minded as he confronts a whole series of the outfit's mobsters. Inevitably, his endeavours eventually bring him into a confrontation with the outfit's top man who's the only one who actually has the authority to repay him but, of course, has no intention of doing so, especially after Porter kidnaps his son.
Porter, who's only known by his surname throughout the whole movie, is introduced as a despicable anti-hero who steals money from a street beggar, picks the pocket of a random man in the street and steals cigarettes from a woman who works in a diner. He's regarded as insane by all the mobsters who think that the risks he takes in pursuit of a mere $70,000 are absurd. He obviously sees things differently though because, in his mind, what he's doing involves a matter of principle and this provides the movie with a running joke as, at various times, members of the outfit talk about making higher payments only for Porter to reiterate that the sum he's pursuing is just the $70,000.
Mel Gibson is well-suited to his role as he's convincingly tough and violent but also adds a certain tongue-in-cheek quality which distinguishes his performance from that of Lee Marvin's in "Point Blank". The rest of the cast is also very good with Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn and William Devane all standing out and Lucy Lui absolutely sensational as a highly-enthusiastic, leather-clad dominatrix whose sudden outbursts of violence are both physically impressive and comical at the same time.
"Payback" is visually strong, nicely paced and features some well-executed action sequences. It's thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and despite not reaching the standards set in John Boorman's original, is enjoyable, full of atmosphere and well worth watching.