Archives

Trivia

Our Award

Box Office Reports

Release Dates

Links

e-mail

HOME

    I don't have a problem bombing this movie.  I cannot express how grateful I am that I didn't pay good money to go to the theater and see this film.   I rented it tonight and I must say, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!  This movie was terrible.  I can't say it any plainer than that.  It was, for lack of a better word, excrement.  Even a pitiful movie like The Haunting got half a star from me.   It atleast had SOME redeeming qualities.  This had none.

    Normally when I write a review I list the good and bad qualities...so, this review might be a bit short since I can't think of ONE good quality.   That is so sad, I usually can find something, but I'm sitting here, pounding my brain and nothing comes to mind.  Well, since there are no good qualities, let's skip to the bad.

    First of all, the characters.  This is a fairly general thing.   Normally I can find one that I identify with, or atleast one that's believable, whether I can identify with them or not.  Well,  all of the characters in Payback are scum.  And, no, I'm not exaggerating.  Let me put it to you this way, the two heros of the movie are a pocket thief who likes to kill people and a whore.   Wow, upstanding citizens here.  Normally, when the characters are so corrupt, there is some lesson to be learned, i.e. violence is not the solution, honesty is the best policy or some cliche like that.  However, these are the heros!  They don't change their ways!  They don't learn any lessons! No lessons are presented to the audience!  NOTHING!  We are left with the message that everyone, including the cops are corrupt and ripping them off or stealing from them is ok because, heck, everyone is bad, why can't I be too?

    Next complaint.  The story, well there are much better revenge stories out there.  Now this kind of refers to the point above, morals.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that a movie who's entire story is fueled by "don't get mad, get even and if a few people happen to die, big whoop", is such a good plot.   Revenge does work in movies, but to base the ENTIRE story on it makes it hard to get the motivation.  Secondly, since the hero is a criminal who steals from innocent people and kills whoever gets in his way, the audience is further removed from the story.   Atleast, I hope so.

    Next complaint.  This goes back to the characters...I realize I'm hopping around but I have so many complaints running around in my head that I am having trouble getting them all out in an orderly fashion.  Ok, let me continue, back to the characters.  They are completely one dimensional.  Every action is completely predictable and yet, at the same time, we are shown no depth.  The motivation for actions is never touched on in over half of the characters.  And since they are so one dimensional, they are easy to see through and therefore the audience sees what's going to happen before it does on screen. 

    Next complaint.  This goes off of the previous one, the writing!!!!  This might be the worst part of the movie.  If there were supposed to be any cute thoughts or ideas, twists or turns...it didn't happen.  I watched this with 2 other people and between us we figured out the next step of the story before it happened without even trying.  There are completely pointless conversations or actions that you know have to show itself later in the story.  The key part of this is when the son, Johnny, pointlessly blurts out that he's going to the fight with his friends to his father while he's conveniently on the speaker phone.  Wow, aren't we creative mr. screenwriters?  Well of course, Mel Gibson is going to go to the fights to get the son.  Not a big shocker there.  The whole movie is like this.   Um, the gun?  Did noone else see this coming?  I'm referring to the cops holding his gun.  Anyway, it's all very predictable.

    Oh, since I mentioned him, I might as well throw this in....Johnny.   Could he be more ridiculous?  He sounded like Judd Nelson imitating Anthony Michael Hall's house in The Breakfast Club.  The "gee dad" lines got REAL old REAL fast.  NOONE!!!! talks like that.  What the hell were the writers thinking?!?!

    Ok, I'm not going to go into other piddely complaints.  My last big one is the narration.  Yeah, Mel Gibson has a fairly cool voice but when he says the stupid cliche lines over the scenes it was pathetic.  The writing sounded like something out of a real cheap, $1 paperback book about cops and robbers that you would find in some crummy convenience store.  A 3rd grader can write better dialogue than that.

    Alright, enough venting.  This movie was terrible, don't watch it.  AVOID IT!!! Please!!!!  I don't know why Mel Gibson took this role.   Yes, he does have a record of taking some pretty bad parts, i.e. Air America or Bird on a Wire, but those are classics compared to this.  TERRIBLE!!!!!!