Director: John Woo Writers (WGA): Philip K. Dick (short story) Dean Georgaris (screenplay) Release Date: 16 January 2004 (UK) more Genre: Sci-Fi / Thriller / Action / Mystery more Tagline: Remember the future. more Plot Outline: What seemed like a breezy idea for an engineer to net him millions of dollars, leaves him on the run for his life and piecing together why he's being chased. more Plot Keywords: Evil Corporation / Biologist / Computer Engineer / Erased Memory / Hair Spray more Awards: 2 wins & 1 nomination more User Comments: James Dwan's Paycheck Review more
Paycheck is a disappointing and sometimes frustrating film because it clumsily toys with a number of potentially brilliant ideas without really knowing what to do with them. These key concepts come courtesy of Philip K. Dick, via his original short story, though the film poorly represents the themes and conceits that have made his stories into unforgettable classics. As a thriller, Paycheck depends upon our identification with its imperiled hero, but the movie is never able to make us truly care about Ben Affleck's Michael Jennings or his fragile state of mind, and that's something Dick would have found unforgivable. Only Uma Thurman really earns her paycheck here. The premise is high concept, and the prophetic threat is revealed to be of apocalyptic proportion, but Paycheck is never more than a pedestrian action film spun from chains of meaningless chase sequences and flat fight scenes. The future world created by John Woo isn't nearly as engaging or convincing as, say, the captivating science fiction setting crafted by Stephen Spielberg for another high-profile Dick adaptation, Minority Report. For Paycheck, the comparison is not flattering. Sadly, Woo can't even keep himself from forcing his own creative preoccupations into the film, and a resulting motorcycle chase sequence is outright uninspired and may represent the film's low. Some scenes are enjoyable, and there are fleeting flashes of wit and excitement, but much of what unfolds seems inappropriately conceived or placed. Paycheck isn't a smart film and, what's more, it sometimes assumes that its audience isn't even paying attention. As a result, the film never comes close to living up to its potential. The material and the audience deserve better. Unfortunately, Paycheck is forgettable fare and, truly, it is without any real payoff.
This movie is a really good story that performs "under par" due to its director (or at least thats what I believe). Its a great story from the expert (Philip K.Dick - Blade Runner, Minority Report) of science fiction stories but as a movie it seems that it tries to become an action movie rather than a great puzzle-suspense thriller.
And all this is due to John Woo (Mission Impossible 2, Face/Off) ; because he gives emphasis on the far-fetched action scenes (a scene that "glues" into your mind due to its silliness is the one where a car chase is stopped when Uma Thurman slides on the ground and little stones fly through the air - like bullets - on the car: and this makes the car driver loose control - crash and explode).
All in all its worth a viewing (especially from sci-fi lovers) but it would probably have been a much better movie, if perhaps, Spielberg, Nolan or Fincher directed it.
Paycheck stars Ben Affleck and Uma Therman, Ben Affleck plays Michael Jennings a man who in order to earn his paycheck works on top secret projects and once finished has his memory wiped clean so that he cannot remember what his last job was. However, the final time round he leaves himself clues for when his memory is erased to help him piece together what went on while he was on the project. Michael Jennings is now on the run for his life and desperately trying to figure out why and who is chasing him before it is too late.
2004's Paycheck only made it into my DVD collection by a matter of sheer luck. I had some spare cash, and decided to pick something up from the new releases section. Definitly an impulse purchase, seeing as I hadn't never heard anything about the film.. if I had I may have known that it would only take a month for a film of this standard to be put in the bargain bin. Or the regular bin. Paycheck is directed by John Woo, the man behind 'Mission Impossible 2' and 'Face/Off'. How does Paycheck rate next to these? Lets find out.
Ben Affleck ('Daredevil', 'Pearl Harbor') plays the starring role in the movie as a technical engineer by the name of Michael Jennings. To open the film we are introduced to his character as he purchases a new state of the art computer that offers '3D visuals' - strange, as I figured computers do that already, but this computer has the visuals that actually come out at you. Using this new computer Michael is set the task of pushing the technology even further forward, and I presume he does that by exploiting the technology this other company has put in this computer. Michael does an amazing job, and we immediately realise what a clever character he actually is. There is more to Michael than just a brain though, and we are introduced to his womanising traits as he gets with a woman who is part of the company Michael has assigned himself to.
With all this top secret work that Michael does comes a price though, and for the two months Michael has spent developing this new technology he must now have his memory wiped. Think a posher 'Men In Black', and it appears quite a grueling process to remove Michael's memories from the past two months. With all these scientific experiments, it makes Paycheck truly a sci-fi movie. Shorty (Paul Giamatti) is responsible for clearing Michael's memories and he explains that if his brain temperature goes too high during the process then he could be turned into a vegetable. Michael and Shorty are more than just work colleagues though, and are actually good friends. It is Shorty than will try to keep Michael level headed.
As Michael's memories are cleared they all appear on the screen next to him as they disappear from his head, and the fact that when memories are being removed you can see them plays a small part in the movie. After having a two month holiday and not knowing what the hell he did with his time, Michael tries to reintroduce himself back into real life by going to a rather posh party. This is where he meets his love interest for the movie, Dr Rachel Porter (Uma Thurman). Ben and Uma are both quite recognisable faces, which gives Paycheck the star power in its cast. It is also worth noting that this movie was also released around the same time as 'Kill Bill', when everyone was raving about how great Uma Thurman is.
This party is where Michael shall be offered a new job, bigger than any he has ever done before. The catch is that instead of having his memory wiped for two months, he shall lose three whole years of his life. What could make Michael want to take on a job like that? Well for giving up three years of his life, he will be made filthy rich and his life can truly begin. After being pursuaded that it will just be like blinking and making $100,000,000 sure enough Michael accepts the job. Michael is assured that there is no risks involved with having his memory removed for three years as they've developed a new way of taking memories, and once hes got started there is no going back.
As soon as he's met Rachel and her piercing blue eyes he will be leaving her apparently.. well wrong, actually. Rachel is a biologist and is working in the same lab as Michael, although their relationship gets off on the wrong foot and the original party, things do develop for them. Michael doesn't believe in second chances, whilst Rachel does. It won't take long for three years to pass in on screen time, and with his 'sentence' done with he goes to the bank to collect his paycheck. Problem is it appears that he signed all his stocks over 4 weeks before he was due to finish his work, therefore meaning he has no money. Michael's smile quickly disappears and it is hard to understand what is going on. Has he been set up? Has Michael really given away all his money? The other confusing matter is that all the personal items that Michael had stored away before he went to work in the lab for three years have changed. Now in the envelope is a bunch of stuff that Michael doesn't even believe belong to him.
There is obviously something not quite right about the company he has been working for, and it doesn't take long for Michael to be kidnapped and questioned about exactly what work he was doing for the past three years. Only he genuinely doesn't know. It comes clear that everything he put in the envelope was put in there for a reason by him so that he could get himself out of sticky situations and change the future. But how does anyone tell the future? Well that's because the work that Michael has been doing for the past three years was developing a machine that can tell the future. Michael has seen that by developing this machine he has taken the future away from everybody, and with nothing to live for the world is going to destroy itself. Michael must now do everything in his power to stop what he has created, but he shall have the company working against him, wanting him dead.
The plot does sound quite exciting, but believe me it is not. The film runs for an hour and 54 minutes, so running close to 2 hours it is hard to see what they filled all the time up with. The bad guys you will genuinely dislike, and you will want Michael to find justice in the end. It's a very predictable little film though, so you won't get too emotionally involved. The certificate is set at 12, which is about right. There's not any sex and very minimal violence. There is a few good fight scenes and a chase scene, but nothing to get worked up over. In all honesty, I wish I never really bought this film and I know it wouldn't have bothered me if I had never seen it. Stay well clear.
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.
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