Great Film: Payback
It's just plain mean!
Payback, while admittedly one of the more violent movies out this year, was
definitely an entertaining flick.
Like the promo catch phrase says, this time you'll root for the bad guy. If
Gibson's character has any redeeming qualities, they are on a very short
list. Porter (Gibson) is violent, at times even cruel and the other
characters aren't much better; some are worse. Every character is from the
wrong side of the tracks, even the cops are on the take and there are no
punches pulled. The only character you can really feel is a "good guy" is
Rose, the stereotypical Callgirl with a heart of gold (although it's maybe
only 10 karat, not a real 24 karat heart).
Nevertheless, you will root for Porter. Frankly, I don't think anyone else
could have pulled off this role and still kept the support of the audience
like Gibson did, but then he generally always plays the good guy with a
twist. This time, the twist is a little more savage than usual.
All in all, if you enjoy the occasional violent romp on the big screen and
you're a fan of Mel Gibson; Payback is worth seeing.
Cast
- Rosie played by Maria Bello
- Arthur Stegman played by David Paymer
- Pearl played by Lucy Liu
- Val Resnick played by Gregg Henry
- Phil played by John Glover
- Bronson played by Kris Kristofferson
- Porter played by Mel Gibson
