Payback Reviews

Disclaimer: my view may be biased because I watched the other (and, in my opinion, far superior) film based on Richard Stark's The Hunter, Point Blank (1967), the night before I watched Payback.

One thing that irked me about Payback was the soundtrack-- it was way too obvious. The worst example is the use of the BB King tune "The Thrill is Gone" after a kidnap victim is lured into a trap using the promise of sex and he's made a prisoner instead. Ugh.

The photography isn't particularly stylish, nor is it hackish. The writing, however, was subpar. Most of verbal humor was groan-worthy and the dramatic scenes seemed to lack any real weight, probably because the characters were wholly undeveloped.

Granted, no one expects terrific writing or virtuoso cinematography in an action flick. We want fistfights, gunplay, explosions, etc, which Payback has no shortage of, but we also need a reason to care one way or another about who comes out on top, or, at the very least, strong audio/visual reasons to draw us in and keep us glued to the screen. With a weak script and merely adequate craftsmanship, Payback ends up being a mediocre revenge picture.

I'd only really recommend seeing this film as a companion piece to Point Blank.

Or I'd recommend The Limey (1999) or Get Carter (1971) - the Michael Caine version, not the Sly Stallone version - as far better flicks with similar themes.