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Payback (I) (1999)

 -  Action | Crime | Drama  -  5 February 1999 (USA)
7.0
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Ratings: 7.0/10 from 80,765 users   Metascore: 46/100
Reviews: 372 user | 146 critic | 24 from Metacritic.com

Porter is shot by his wife and best friend and is left to die. When he survives he plots revenge.

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Writers:

(novel), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
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Title: Payback (1999)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Pearl (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
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Mark Alfa ...
Johnny's Friend #2
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Radioman
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Michael, Bartender #1
Len Bajenski ...
Fairfax Bodyguard #1
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Storyline

Porter is bad, but his neighbours are worse. Street-wise and tough, an ex-marine, he is betrayed by a one-time partner, and shot in the back by his junkie wife. He survives and returns, looking to recover his share from the robbery of an Asian crime gang. The money has passed into the hands of "the Outfit", a slick gangster organisation that runs the city. He has to make his way through a world populated by heroin dealers, prostitutes, sado-masochists, gunmen and crooked cops, a place where torture is a way of life. His only friend is a former employer, a prostitute, and her loyalty is in question, given she now works for the Outfit. He makes good early progress, but then falls into the hands of Fairfax, the crime boss. Written by Kwah-LeBaire

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Get ready to cheer for the bad guy! See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language, and drug and sexual content | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

5 February 1999 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Porter  »

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,181,026 (UK) (26 March 1999)

Gross:

$81,517,441 (USA) (9 July 1999)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the director commentary, James Coburn found the prop cigars his character was supposed to use unfit for smoking. So, he went into Mel Gibson's trailer (Gibson wasn't there, as he wasn't scheduled for shooting at that moment) and helped himself to a few of Gibson's cigars. See more »

Goofs

You can't ignite liquid gasoline with a lit cigarette. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Porter: [voiceover] GSW: that's what the hospitals call it: gunshot wound. Doctor has to report it to the police. That makes it hard for guys in my line to get what I call, quality health care.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Parker (2013) See more »

Soundtracks

"If I Had My Life to Live Over"
Written by Moe Jaffe, Harry Tobias and Larry Vincent
Performed by Lou Rawls
Courtesy of Blue Note Records
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Payback & Point Blank
16 September 2004 | by (Herefordshire, England) – See all my reviews

Yes - Payback & Point Blank (1967) are very similar. But there is a very good reason for that. Both films are based on the novel 'The Hunter' by Richard Stark, a pseudonym for Donald E Westlake.

The films share several character names such as Brewster, Carter, Stegman and Fairfax and similar plots. In both cases the anti-hero Porter (or Walker) is trying to recover a sum of money after being double-crossed.

Now, I am a huge fan of Point Blank. It takes a relatively simple plot and makes a bit of cinematic poetry out of it. And if I was forced to compare Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson's performances, then I'm sorry but Gibson would lose big time. However, Payback is a much better film than I thought it would be. There are sufficient differences to make the story interesting and though it is told in a much more straightforward and, dare I say, 'safe' way than Point Blank, it is a very well made film and tells a compelling story well. And it's nice to see Gibson return to a somewhat morally ambiguous character a la Mad Max.


32 of 40 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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