Mel Gibson in "Payback."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film an: Stars: Mel Gibson, Maria Bello and Kris Kristofferson Director: Brian Helgeland Rated: R, with strong violence, profanity and drug use Length: 99 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(Jan. 5, 1999) -- "Not everyone knows how much his life is worth," says a thief named Porter (Mel Gibson) at the start of Payback.

"Mine is worth $70,000."

That's the cash stolen from him by his wife, Lynn, and partner, Val, after they've plugged him twice in the back and left him for dead.

They were about to split the take from a hold-up when things went sour. But the next time somebody tries to kill Porter, they'd better check his pulse.

The rest of this dark, nasty and thoroughly engrossing crime thriller is about Porter's violent efforts to get back what's his.

A stylish, latter-day film noir, Payback marks the directorial debut of Brian Helgeland, co-writer of L.A. Confidential. And it stars Gibson in one of his most intriguingly moody roles.

The intense, dark edge hinted at in Gibson's Lethal Weapon and Mad Max roles is given full voice here. Porter is ostensibly the hero, but as played by Gibson, he's only a few rungs up the evolutionary ladder from the low-life slugs he confronts.

Fortunately, enough of Gibson's famous charm survives to help keep us on Porter's side, even though Porter has no compunction about pumping slugs into the slugs.

He is, after all, a thief; his wife (Deborah Kara Unger) is a drug addict, his mistress (Maria Bello) is a hooker, and his former partner, Val (Gregg Henry), has become a "made" member of the mob. In fact, Val stole the cash from Porter to pay his entrance fee into organized crime.

Porter's determination, though, knows no bounds. To get back "his" money, he takes on a succession of high-level mobsters, played with verve by William Devane, James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson.

At the same time, a pair of corrupt cops are on his tail.

The tale may be familiar to longtime fans of crime movies. It's an adaptation of Richard Stark's book The Hunter -- which also was the basis for John Boorman's highly regarded 1967 film Point Blank, with Lee Marvin in the role played now by Gibson.

Helgeland shifts the action from sunny daytime San Francisco to gloomy, steel-blue nighttime Chicago, and he intensifies what was already a famously violent saga.

He also cleverly injects a lot of perversely funny black comedy, mostly involving the cocky but inept Val and his sicko relationship with an enthusiastic dominatrix (hilariously played by Lucy Liu, of TV's Ally McBeal).

David Paymer also provides comic relief as a milquetoast mob middleman.

Reportedly, Payback took a troubled route to theaters, with Mel Gibson retooling the final cut over Helgeland's objections. No such turmoil is evident in the finished product, and there's plenty of credit to go round.

For fans of violent crime action, shadowy low-lifes and perverse humor, Payback pays off.