PAYCHECK (2003)
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures

By Désirée I. Guzzetta

I think it's only fair to you, the reader, that I admit my bias right away: I am a major fan of director John Woo. In fact, here are a few of the things I look for in a John Woo film and whether or not they are in his latest effort, Paycheck:

1) Dove flying in slow motion through a door: Check!
2) Moments of pure sentimentality (and by "pure," I mean untainted): Check!
3) Great, ballet-like action sequences with lots o' bullets: Check!
4) A well-choreographed fight ending in a Mexican stand-off: Double check!
5) Our Hero firing two guns at once, usually while flying through the air: No check!

Ah, well, four out of five ain't bad and when it comes to Woo, I'm pretty easy to please. So, yes, I did in fact like Paycheck. More than the people I saw it with. More than a lot of people who've seen it, apparently.

Based on a story by the late, great science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, Paycheck has an interesting premise: What would you be willing to do for obscene amounts of money if you didn't have to remember whatever it was you did and thus escape living with the consequences? Hence, the story of Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck), a “reverse engineer” who helps companies steal products from their rivals, then agrees to have the memory of what he did erased once the job is completed. It's nice work if you can get it, I guess.

One day, he accepts a job from his smarmy friend, Jimmy Rethrick (a suave and debonair Aaron Eckhart), to do some top-secret work with a scientist which will result in a pay-off so large that Michael will never have to work again. Sounds good to Michael, even though two huge red flags go up that should have warned him away from ever saying yes: A) The job will take three years and B) Jimmy's associate, Wolf (a creepily menacing Colm Feore), has a new method of marking the start of specific memories that Michael's never heard of before. Then again, he gets to spend three years working and living in the same complex as the beautiful Rachel Porter (Uma Thurman in a throwaway part), so perhaps it won't be such a bad job after all.

Cut to three years later. Job's over, Michael's memory of it is wiped, and he's off to collect his big reward and his personal effects, except he finds out he's signed away his rights to his big reward and the personal effects aren't his. Now he has to figure out what exactly the job entailed and why he mailed himself a bunch of seemingly random objects before he gets fried by either the FBI or Jimmy's henchmen, both of whom are coming after him.

The film could have been better if Woo had, oh, I don't know, Chow-Yun Fat as his star instead of Affleck, who I've seen give much stronger performances, and if the plot holes had been plugged up, most of which could have been done with a couple of lines of exposition (being a Lazy Critic, I can tell when there's lazy filmmaking afoot). On the plus side is the too-brief but good performance of Paul Giamatti as Michael's friend Shorty, who provides comic relief. There is also Woo's economy of plot elements (despite the holes!)--everything that he shows you in the beginning figures into the ensuing events. He doesn't leave loose ends dangling, which I appreciate, even if it means I catch the telegraphing of upcoming scenes, which takes some of the suspense out of the proceedings.

Paycheck is a decent enough film filled with exciting action and provided sufficient entertainment for me to recommend it. Well, at least to recommend it to other John Woo fans. And other action film fans. And Ben Affleck fans (like me)--heck, even Affleck haters who want a chance to see him get tormented. As long as you see it at a matinee showing. Yes, I'm not just a Lazy Critic--I'm a cheap one, too! Finally, for those who care: There are no outtakes or Easter eggs to be found in the credits.

Official Paycheck Site

Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures
Director: John Woo
Screenwriter: Dean Georgaris, based on the story by Philip K. Dick
Starring: Ben Affleck (Michael Jennings), Uma Thurman (Rachel Porter), Aaron Eckhart (Jimmy Rethrick), Paul Giamatti (Shorty), Colm Feore (Wolf), Joe Morton (Agent Dodge), Michael C. Hall (Agent Klein)
Running Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Rated: PG-13

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