The Worst Film Ever

Good concept, poorly executed.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This is basically a run of the mill revenge action movie that worked when it first came out. Even today it's a okay flick to just pop in and sit through, mainly because of Mel Gibson's portrayal of a bad guy going after the mob to get his money back. He seemed like the type of guy that has a set of principles that he stands by but isn't someone you want to stab in the back. He is a very vengeful character and to a certain extent I could understand where he was coming from. He isn't necessarily a character I could root for but he is someone that resonated with me to a certain extent. Yeah, there is some cool bits then and there but overall it's a generic revenge action movie that is actually quite forgettable. It would have been very forgettable if it was for Mel Gibson's performance, but than again the guy is really good at playing anti-heroes or bad guys that doesn't go full evil.6/10

For most of his career, Melt Gibson has taken flight with mainly dramatic roles and has gone on to stir up a few Oscar nominated roles but at the same time made a name for himself as an action hero beginning in the late 70s starring in the titular role in 'Mad Max'. Following the sequels, Gibson made a highly praised debut in 'Lethal Weapon' franchise starring opposite Danny Glover. Fresh out of his wonder years as the gun-totting L.A police detective, Gibson makes once again another appearance as a trigger happy protagonist in this revenge thriller directed by Brian Helgeland. Gibson plays Porter, a merciless, bad-to- the-bone thief who makes no way to make a living than to rob and pick-pocket innocent neighbors of their money and worse of all, the criminals in his neighborhood that surround are certainly no better. After a half-successful robbery from an Asian street gang known as "The Outfit", Porter is betrayed by his partner Val Resnick (played by Gregg Henry) and wife Lynn Porter (played by Deborah Kara Unger) who shoot in cold blood and leave him for dead. However, when Porter miraculously survives he seeks assistance from his ex- lover and former partner Rosie (played by Maria Bello) to deliver vengeance and claim back his money while making his way through a world of vicious drug dealers, prostitutes, and corrupt law officials. Mel Gibson has sported many clever and memorable during his year, arguably his most memorable in 'Lethal Weapon' series or as the British warrior in war epic 'Braveheart'. His role as the protagonist in this film is certainly not as memorable and definitely not as appealing as many of the heroic characters he's known for. While he gives a performance that allows him to suit well in this role, he doesn't quite bring the same sort of charisma he had in his role in Lethal Weapon. Fortunately, he still manages to entertain during gunfight sequences. Watching Gibson mow down the bad guys in a bloody, bullet-blazing frenzy is fun to watch, at least for a little while. But the rest of the time, the film is a bit tedious. From the opening scene, the plot starts off with a promise and progresses into something bigger, and it works at least the first hour. But towards the final stretch, the story falls a bit clumsy and becomes less engaging. On the bright side, the supporting cast does manage to spit out some entertaining performances along the way packing in some dark humor that works at least part of the time, particularly Gregg Henry as Mel Gibson's partner with a hidden agenda on his hands. His performance isn't quite strong, but it holds up. One of the biggest surprises comes Lucy Liu who plays a prostitute of the Asian street gang, quite a questionable role for her.Payback is not your average Mel Gibson actioner and probably sits the lower ladder of Gibson's filmopgraphy. Nonetheless, it is still entertaining on some level and has its moments of spectacle in the midst of its subpar script and plot. This revenge flick is one that will please some but definitely not all, particularly those who go in expecting something on the level of Lethal Weapon.

Porter (Mel Gibson) is a bad, bad man and he's looking for revenge on all those who backstabbed him. First he finds his druggie wife (Deborah Kara Unger). In flashbacks, he, his wife and Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) steal money from an Asian gang but his wife shoots him in the back. Val had shown her a picture of Porter with Rosie (Maria Bello). Now Porter is looking to collect his $70k share of the take from Val. Val had used the money to get back into the good graces of the underworld syndicate.The tagline is "Get Ready to Root for the Bad Guy" but I never did. It's dour and dark. It may need more action violence because it doesn't have the realism to be taken seriously. Lucy Liu has a nice role before she got big and this is also early Maria Bello. It has some dark humor but it needs to be funnier. It's an interesting attempt at a dark anti-hero but I can't completely buy it.

I can't help it, I really like Mel Gibson. He might be an asshole (or maybe just have some anger issues), but damn it, he has a screen presence that I enjoy.Mel Gibsons character in Payback doesn't beat around the bush. He gets stuff done, he doesn't just talk-talk-talk, he acts. Violently. That's kind of refreshing. Payback is pretty brutal at times, but doesn't make a huge point out of it, either.Another thing with Payback, is the acting. I enjoy the acting of several of the characters here. Greg Henry stands out, especially in some scenes. He is just so believable, at the same time sort of a caricature. I like that. Seems like Brian Helgeland knows what he wants from his actors.There's some stuff about the plot here that might be hard to swallow for some people, some coincidences you kind of have to suspend your disbelief to accept, but I usually don't care much about stuff like that. There is a lot of smoking in this movie, and that's good to see! I miss the days where pretty much every protagonist and antagonist smoked their ass off in almost every scene. Haha. Interestingly, even with the brutality of this movie, it also has quite a lot of humor mixed in. Some of it I don't know if was meant to be humor, but I found it to be a nice touch anyhow. A couple of humorous things are just plain weird, too. Anyhow, Payback is an entertaining, rather dark revenge-flick. I likey.