Stars: Mel Gibson, James Coburn, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, William Devane, Bill Duke, Kris Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson, Deborah Kara Unger

Director: Brian Helgeland

Summary: An action thriller based on the 1960s film Point Blank which finds Porter seeking revenge after his wife and partner swindle him out of share in a heist.

Mel Gibson plays Porter, a ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Oriental gang. When Porter survives the attack, he makes it his mission to exact revenge on his friend, who has used the robbery money to buy his way into a powerful syndicate. Added to the mix are crooked police officers, members of the syndicate, and the Oriental gang, who are out for a bit of revenge themselves. Bloody and violent.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

If it weren't for the fact that John Boorman's Point Blankwas already a definitive take on Richard Stark's novel The Hunter(reissued under the title Payback), Paybackwould be a well-above-average 90s action movie. The original toughness is diluted: Mel Gibson's Porter, replacing Lee Marvin's Walker and Stark's Parker, comes on like a hardnut but turns into a softie when he hooks up with call-girl Maria Bello (and he even likes dogs). Double-crossed and wounded after shifty Gregg Henry dupes Porter's wife (Deborah Kara Unger) into betraying him, Porter sets out to get back the $70,000 share of a heist that he feels he is owed. Because Henry has used the money to buy his way into "the Outfit", he has to deal not only with the squirming scumbag but a hierarchy of corporate mobsters (William Devane, James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson) for whom it would be bad business practice to hand over even the trivial sum. Director-writer Brian Helgeland gives it a steely-blue look and gets good performances all round (with room for Lucy Liu as an amusing dominatrix) while constructing a story in which everything fits. But it's just a good thriller, since the masterpiece potential has already been staked out. --Kim Newman

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region B
Year:	1998
Release Date:	September 28, 2009
Runtime:	101 minutes
Certification:	To Be Announced.
Catalogue Number:	B D Y 25789
Keywords:	Action, General, Wide, Screen, Full, Payback, Thriller, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure