Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut (2006) (V)

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writers:

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

Release Date:

10 April 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He's back with a vengeance.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Betrayal | Butterfly Knife | Shot To Death | Black Comedy

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 (archive footage) (voice)
Lucy Liu	...	Pearl (archive footage) (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
David Paymer	...	Arthur Stegman (archive footage)
Roderick Peeples	...	Hit Man on 'L' Platform (archive footage)
Christian Stolte	...	Val's Thug (archive footage) (as Christian Stolti)
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Lynn Porter (archive footage)

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

Bronson's voice was originally provided by Angie Dickinson, who starred in Point Blank (1967), of which this film is a remake. But her voice was replaced with Sally Kellerman's for the DVD release.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Porter sits on the sidewalk to wait for Rosie, the blue backpack is about a foot behind him. Although Porter later says "Backpack, backpack," and Rosie replies, "Got it," when Rosie first comes around the car, the backpack is nowhere to be seen.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in Same Story... Different Movie: Creating 'Payback: The Director's Cut' (2007) (V)

Really misses the entertainment of the original.

What made the 1999 cut of the movie so great was its entertainment value. It was an incredibly fun movie to watch, with a cool fun style and soundtrack and some nice twists and turns to its story. All of that is basically gone in this version and its a much darker and serious one.

After production finished the Brian Helgeland was deemed too dark and not suitable for the mainstream public. A re-write got done and scene's got re-shot by a different director for the original theatrical release. 90% of the times that a studio decides to do this and changes a movie entire, it isn't for the best. Director's cuts are therefor often way better than the original released versions. However this time I have to say I agree with the studio. This version is a much poorer written and constructed one that lacks whit, charm and whatever more. The 1999 "Payback" was an original and fun movie to watch, "Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut" however is just one typical revenge flick that just isn't among the best the genre has to offer.

You could say that this movie is more of a thriller, while the original, even though it was more entertaining, was done much more film-noir style, that was also a more violent one as well.

What is surprisingly different as well in this movie are its characters. It's amazing what some editing, a visual- and musical style and different scene additions can do to a character. The main character is much darker and seems basically depressed all of the time. It just makes Mel Gibson less great to watch in this version. Also most of the other characters don't work out halve as effective. The whole Maria Bello story-line and character in particular don't work out at all and seem totally out of place.

The movie is just overall also often too slow and dull to watch. Some sequences drag on for too long and not everything in the flows well.

The movie story-wise actually isn't that much different from the original release, until its final 30 minutes or something. The movie its ending is a totally different one. I must say that the ending of this movie is just a much weaker one that besides comes far too sudden and isn't really very satisfying.

Lacks all of the whit, charm, originality and entertainment of the original version. As a director's cut this movie is nothing but a disappointment. Just watch the 1999 "Payback" instead.

6/10