Paycheck (2003) Movie Information:
| Paycheck (2003) Directed by: |
 John Woo |
| Paycheck (2003) Written by: |
| Dean Georgaris, Scott Frank, Philip Dick |
| Paycheck (2003) Cast: |
| Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Michael Hall, Kathryn Morris, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, Ivana Milicevic, Joe Morton |
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Paycheck (2003) Synopsis:
Brilliant computer engineer Michael Jennings routinely has his short term memory erased, so he can't divulge any information about the top secret projects he works on throughout the year. For his most recent gig, he expects to receive over four billion dollars. Upon completion of the job, however, Jennings is given a filled envelope--not with a check for his billions, but containing random objects. It is communicated to him that he had agreed to forfeit his payment for this specific project. With his memory erased, the meticulous engineer attempts to use the objects in the envelope to figure out what happened to him in his now obscured past. Soon, federal agents are after Jennings and he teams up with his old flame, Rachel, who helps him uncover the mystery of his past--and the question behind why the people whom he once worked for, now want him dead.
Paycheck (2003) Movie Review:
Based off of Philip K. Dick’s short story, "Paycheck" is John Woo’s modish homage to the great Alfred Hitchcock. Ben Affleck is in the usual Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart role of the accused man, and Uma Thurman is the Grace Kelly or Kim Novak love interest. Though the devotion is straightforward and pleasant, "Paycheck" is still a lackluster futuristic thriller that is also comprised of the usual choices by director John Woo. The film opens well, but then fails apart; to where by the closure of the film, very lame choices take
control.
In the not too distant future, Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is a talented computer engineer that makes a living by deconstructing computer programs and
passing the information along to competitors, so that each can make profits from Jenning’s discoveries. After each job, which usually lasts a few months, Jennings has his memories of the job erased by his working partner Shorty (Paul
Giamatti); afterwards he receives his paycheck. A challenging job comes along for Jennings from a man named Jimmy Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart), which will take up not just a few months, but three years of his life that will be erased upon completion. Jennings accepts the job due to the amount of his paycheck, which will be 90 million dollars. However, three years later after completing the job Jennings discovers that he is being tracked, and that he turned in his paycheck for a envelope full of 19 everyday items. The questions being arising
as to what are the items for? What happened in the last three years? What was the job? As well why do people want him dead? The only person that
Michael can turn to is Rachel (Uma Thurman), a woman that he can hardly remember but
is engaged to. Since moving into Hollywood in the early 90s, Hong Kong action director John
Woo has had deliver one very good action film ("Face/Off"), a dreadful war film ("Windtalkers"), and very stylish, yet frail thrillers ("Mission: Impossible
2," "Broken Arrow"). Woo’s work in Hong Kong cinema is by far his best, composed of precisely orchestrated action sequences, which are choreographed as a piece of theatre, rather than a film. "Paycheck" is Woo’s tribute to Hitchcock, and the choices are very clear with continuos point-of-view shots, which Hitchcock made famous, as well as the exposure of many Hitchcockian themes
throughout. However, "Paycheck" is still very much a John Woo film, his fingerprints are all over it. Of course there is a sequence where a car and the hero on a motorcycle square off at full speeds towards one another. Fortunately in this film, the motorcycle veers off, with the two not crashing into one another and the hero still managing to get up for a fist fight. There are also many
point-blank gun "face offs" between the characters, which Woo does in every film. Also, this can not be a John Woo film, without the presence of his
backlit pigeon, which always tells the characters an epiphany. However, the pigeon as most of the time is not need in the film, but "Paycheck" could not be a John Woo film without it. Woo is a very good action director, he likes to blow things up, but this is a futuristic thriller, in a sense. "Paycheck"
supposedly takes place in the future, but there are many inconsistencies. An example is in the first half-hour of the film, Affleck’s character gets out of a futuristic looking taxi, but for the rest of the film the bad guys chase him in everyday cars.
The film runs into most its problems with the writing by Dean Georgaris, who adapted the script from Philip K. Dick’s short story. Other stories by
Dick have been adapted in to solid films, such as "Minority Report," "Total Recall," and "Blade Runner." Georgaris’ only other writing credit thus far is last summer’s terrible "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life." The script really just gets out hand after half way through the film, to where the plot switches gear to a near apocalyptic battle, and the common characters become action heroes. Michael Jennings is a normal man, trying to figure out while people are chasing him, but by the end of the film he is totting machine guns and beating up bad guys. Same goes for the female lead of Rachel. The whole envelope full of common items works to an extent, but the film’s secrets and payoff are pretty stale.
Ben Affleck is so good in some roles ("Changing Lanes"), but is so lost in others ("Daredevil"). As Michael Jennings, Affleck does nothing special
except run a lot and continually overplays that corner smirk of his. Uma Thurman smiles a lot, and does not have much to work with as Rachel, but she is still an actress that you can not take your eyes off of. Aaron Eckhart and Colm Feore play the villains of the film, and do what they are asked to, but are two actors that call for material with more depth. Paul Giamatti serves as comic relief as Jenning’s friend Shorty, and becomes one of the few good things in this film.
"Paycheck" is a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock and his films, but it is more so another John Woo film that is at times overdone and not too intriguing as
a thriller. The secrets of the film come as no surprise for a Philip K. Dick story, which always centers on the future.
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Paycheck (2003) review written by: Bailey Henderson
