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Paycheck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman
Director: John Woo
Genre: Science Fiction
Year: 2003
Rating: 3 / 5

Movie fans have come to develop a certain set of expectations when it comes to a John Woo film. The action is almost invariably over the top, scenes with minimal dialogue tell a grand story, and doves always make an appearance on screen. Likewise, author Philip K. Dick, a man whose stories have inspired more than a handful of movies, has his own core of followers. Unfortunately, and due in no part to any shortcomings on his part, Dick’s tales have been met with mixed results on the big screen. While Blade Runner and Total Recall are fine examples of where his tales can go, Impostor and Minority Report represent noble ideas that sputtered along the way. Quite frankly, Paycheck falls somewhere in the middle, a film that contains pieces of John Woo and Philip Dick and yet does not quite live up to its lofty pedigree.

Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is a computer engineer in the near future, one who specializes in developing new products from existing technology. He takes a successful item, breaks it down to its component parts, and attempts to construct a similar – if barely legal – knockoff of the product in question. Michael is very good at what he does, but his jobs also involve a fair amount of secrecy. As such, after each job, Michael’s memory is wiped. Good friend James Rethrick approaches him with the opportunity of a lifetime, a project with a huge payday but one which will require up to three years of his life. Despite some hesitation about the time he would lose, the opportunity to attain that one big break leads Michael to make the leap.

Three years later, Michael walks away from his latest job as he has done many times before. This time, though, things start going awry from the outset. The FBI swoops in to question him about the project, he learns that he has signed away his entire eight-figure check, and his life is apparently in danger. The only things he has are twenty items left in an envelope, one that he appears to have sent himself a few weeks prior. These seemingly innocuous items nonetheless hold the clues to the past three years, specifically the secret project on which he worked. As he starts putting the pieces together with the help of former love Rachel Porter (Uma Thurman), Michael begins to realize that his recent work holds serious implications for his suddenly clearer future.

The most impressive facet of Paycheck is clearly its gripping story, even if it is not fully realized. We begin to see a very clever plot developing, as Michael Jennings must always stay one step ahead of his pursuers. Director John Woo does throw a few fights and chases into the film, but these seem secondary to the main story and are expected rather than necessary. Stars Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman make for a good team, with Uma allowed to kick a little more butt than the typical love interest in such films. I must admit that I am a sucker for science fiction films such as this, and that may have contributed to my enjoyment. Paycheck is light-hearted fun, another opportunity to delve into the intriguing world of science fiction. Even if Paycheck had the potential to be much more, it still manages to be a pretty safe bet.

Cast:

Certification: Rated PG-13 for violence and language.
Running Time: 119 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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