Payback (I) (1999)

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

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel), Brian Helgeland (screenplay),

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Porter
Gregg Henry	...	Val Resnick
Maria Bello	...	Rosie
David Paymer	...	Arthur Stegman
Bill Duke	...	Det. Hicks
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Mrs. Lynn Porter
John Glover	...	Phil
William Devane	...	Carter
Lucy Liu	...	Pearl (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
Jack Conley	...	Det. Leary
Kris Kristofferson	...	Bronson
Mark Alfa	...	Johnny's Friend #2
Kwame Amoaku	...	Radioman
Justin Ashforth	...	Michael, Bartender #1
Len Bajenski	...	Fairfax Bodyguard #1

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.

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Plot Keywords:

money | revenge | prostitute | robbery | shot in the back | 

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Taglines:

No More Mr. Nice Guy

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language, and drug and sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 February 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Porter

Filming Locations:

186 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois, USA

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

Production Co:

Icon Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 90 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For release in Australia, the U.S. tagline "Get ready to root for the bad guy" was changed to "Get ready to CHEER for the bad guy" because, as Mel Gibson himself pointed out, in Australia "to root" is slang for "to have sexual intercourse".

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Goofs

Porter enters Mr. Fairfax's office with his semi-automatic pistol aimed at Fairfax. But he incorrectly holds the gun tilted 90 degrees to the left. Such a hold does not allow proper sight alignment, and could also jam a semi-auto pistol during firing. Nobody familiar with basic pistol operation would grip one in this manner.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Parker (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Luck Be a Lady"
Written by Frank Loesser
Performed by Michael Civisca
Courtesy of MJJ Music
by Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Wow, This Is A Rough, Tough Movie!

A modern-day film noir, this is about as tough as it gets. Rough characters, rough violence and rough language all comprise this re-make of the 1967 film "Point Blank," which starred Lee Marvin.

Mel Gibson is the "good guy" here, taking Marvin's role, but I put that in quotes because he's not really "good," just a thief attempting to get his $70,000 back which was stolen from him by his partner and ex-wife in a former heist. He goes up the ladder, little guy to the top boss, to finally get his money.

Gibson gets beaten up several times and even gets tortured in one toes- crunching scene. The women are tough-looking, coarse and unappealing. I did like the metallic-blue hues in here, making this an interesting visual film. However, the city scenes are bleak, a la Batman.

Despite the above, I still found the movie good enough to watch several times. Most people like a simple, revenge story which this really is, and there is dark humor in here, too. The other characters are interesting, particularly the one played by William Devane. I also liked the narration by Gibson, done in 1940s film noir style. The worst person in here was the sadistic "Val Resnick" (Gregg Henry). He was so bad, he was cartoon-ish, someone so bad he belonged in one of those Batman or Hellboy or Spiderman flicks.