Payback (1999)

Directed by

Brian Helgeland

Genre

drama film, action film, heist film, neo-noir, thriller film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 41m

Rated

R

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 2,032 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A professional thief is double-crossed by his partners after a heist and left for dead. He survives and sets out to recover the money he is owed, operating by his own brutal code.

grittytensenoirishbleakfast-pacedcoldunsentimentalvisceral

What happens

Payback is a 1999 American neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Brian Helgeland in his directorial debut, and starring Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Lucy Liu, Deborah Kara Unger, David Paymer, James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. It is based on the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake using the pseudonym Richard Stark, which had earlier been adapted into the 1967 film Point Blank. During post-production, Helgeland was removed by Gibson and the producers, who rewrote and reshot substantial portions of the film, including a different third act and a new villain played by Kris Kristofferson. This version of the film was released by Paramount Pictures on February 5, 1999, and received mixed reviews from critics. In 2006, Helgeland issued a director's cut, entitled Payback: Straight Up – The Director's Cut, that differs substantially from the version released by the studio. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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