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6 Degrees Entertainment

'Payback: Director's Cut'
(Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, et al / DVD / nR / (1999) 2006 / Paramount Pictures)

Overview: Val Resnick and Porter, two small time bandits, hit a Chinese gang together and manage to get $140,000. But Val Resnick needs 130 grand alone to buy himself back into his syndication. So, Val turns on Porter together with Porter's wife Lynn, who kills him with two shots in the back. But Porter survives and half a year later, he is back, seeking his share of $70,000.

DVD Verdict: 'Payback' hails back to the seventies type movies where rooting for the bad guy is the whole point of the movie and it works quite successfully in this first-rate film. Mel Gibson does an terrific job of playing the bad guy that you really want to root for. Fair warning to the light of heart and young ones though, for this film is not for them. Sticking with Mel Gibson's type of film making, the realism in this film is astonishing and could be considered rather shocking. Given that this is an entirely different type of movie for Mel Gibson in which he is the hero of the film but his character isn't quite the "hero" type, I found his performance to be exceptional, but then again, name a film where his performance wasn't exceptional. Maria Bello of "ER" fame stars as Mel Gibson's love interest and she performs quite well in this film. Gregg Henry who plays the "true" bad guy of the film and he does a great job of playing the extraordinarily sadistic mafia "wannabe." Kris Kristofferson plays the "mob" boss of the film. Lucy Alexis Liu performs quite "scarily" as the masochistic/sadistic call girl with some interesting associates.

This is the first film from Director Brian Helgeland that I've seen and he certainly deserves a great amount of praise for bringing the novel "The Hunter" by Richard Stark to the silver screen and DVD format. This film is certainly the last of its type in the twentieth century! The sound track for the film matches perfectly with the entire "feel" and atmosphere of the film, greatly enhancing the experience.

Mel Gibson plays Porter who, while being little more than a common criminal is not so much a common criminal as the film unfolds. As the film opens Porter is retelling the recent events of his life after he's been shot and has now recovered enough to make his way back to New York City and he's on a mission. We soon learn that he and Val Resnick had planned and executed the robbery of $130,000 from a Chinese organized crime group and that when it came time to divide the money between himself and his wife and Val, Val had been conspiring with Porter's wife, showing her a picture of Porter and Rosie (Maria Bello). Porter's wife shoots him in the back. He's now recovered and he's coming to town, looking for his $70,000 and to kill Val Resnick.

What follows from there is nothing short of one of the most brilliant films of its type where Mel Gibson brings his style of acting to the forefront where he can throw in some well placed and funny lines in the most serious of situations for his character. I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of this genre as you will soon find that it bears many viewings quite easily and all the way through you'll be "rooting for the bad guy."

There are multiple DVD extras, including a director's commentary, but the one to catch is the half-hour "Same Story - Different Movie," all about the film's resurrection. Audio and video are sharp on the DVD - and better on high definition discs, although in places the colors seem a bit too jacked up for a gritty, bleach-bypass film. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.75:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
Commentary by: Brian Helgeland
"Same Story, Different Movie - Creating Payback: The Director's Cut"
"The Hunter: A Conversation with Author Donald Westlake"
On Location In Chicago
On Set In Los Angeles

www.paramount.com/homentertainment





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