Payback: Straight Up (Video 2006)

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

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writers:

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

Stars:

Maria Bello, Hugh Callaly, Stephen Cinabro

Cast

Credited cast:
Maria Bello	...	Rosie (archive footage)
Hugh Callaly	...	Businessman (archive footage)
Stephen Cinabro	...	Val's Thug (archive footage)
James Coburn	...	Justin Fairfax (archive footage)
Jack Conley	...	Det. Leary (archive footage)
Debra L. Dado	...	Sneaker Lady (archive footage)
William Devane	...	Carter (archive footage)
Bill Duke	...	Det. Hicks (archive footage)
Mel Gibson	...	Porter (archive footage)
John Glover	...	Phil (archive footage)
Gregg Henry	...	Val Resnick (archive footage)
Sally Kellerman	...	Mrs. Bronson (voice) (archive footage)
Lucy Liu	...	Pearl (archive footage) (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
David Paymer	...	Arthur Stegman (archive footage)
Roderick Peeples	...	Hit Man on 'L' Platform (archive footage)

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | scene during opening credits | ambiguous ending | triad | corrupt cop | 

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Taglines:

He's back with a vengeance.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Payback

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Music editor Scott Stambler was involved in the theatrical cut, and was brought in to try and reedit 'Chris Boardman''s music from that version of the film into the Director's cut. When it was decided by director Brian Helgeland that music simply didn't match the tone of his film, he asked Stambler to write a new original score for his film which was recorded in late Feburary 2006.

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Goofs

When Porter and Val run their Nova into the Chows' car, although the cars have impacted and come to a dead stop, the reaction shot of Porter and Val shows buildings still moving past the side windows. Also, Porter's head has snapped forward all the way to the steering wheel before Val even reacts to the crash.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Val Resnick: Oh, I bet you got a lot of questions rattling around in your head.

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Connections

Edited from Payback (1999)

User Reviews

Seventy grand, I want it back.

Before studio execs and Mel Gibson got all uppity with Brian Helgeland, Payback was a darker, meaner film. But after an apparently poor test screening in 1997(honestly, what IS the point of these?) they put Payback on hold for over a year so Mel could do Lethal Weapon 4 before going back for some re-shoots, with a new director, to make the film happier.

So they approved a script of a dark, moody revenge thriller, green-lighted it for production and changed their minds to make it lighter because a ragtag audience didn't understand/like it? Man, Hollywood is one weird town.

The resulting film, which was eventually released in 1999, seemed a bit tacked together. There were scenes that just seemed out of place and irregular. It was obvious that any scene actually shot back in 1997 was shot on location and any scene shot for the 1999 cut was just shot in the generic 'street set' on the Warner back-lot. Despite all of this, Payback was still a fun film that failed to go all the way with it's concept.

The new DC is a superior version, no doubt and is about 33% different. There are new scenes and odds and ends through out the running time and the last act is completely different. Kris Kristoffersen is gone and replaced by Sally Kellerman (voice only, Bronson is never seen). James Coburn and John Glover also have smaller roles. The narration from Porter is gone as well as the blue tint to most of the film. Now most scenes are just lit as normal without any post-production filtering.

There is also a new musical score. The jazzy feel to the opening scenes is still there but through-out the rest of the film the score is more atmospheric and understated. Both are as good as each and fit the differing tones, so there's no better of the two.

It does end a bit abruptly and without any truly satisfying conclusion. I guess this is what annoyed test audiences. But a disgruntled audience should not be a decision-making committee when it comes to making movies.