Comments on: Movie Review – Payback (1999) / Payback: Straight Up (2006)

By: Nir Shalev

Nir Shalev — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 03:43:55 +0000

I’m glad that someone aside from me had finally watched the “original” director’s cut and I’m also glad that that certain someone also liked it.

:O)

By: Andy Anders

Andy Anders — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:39:26 +0000

I must agree- two different movies, indeed. I remember enjoying the first release as a “guilty pleasure.” Yeah, I wanted to see the really bad guys get it, but it bugged me that the guy I was rooting for appeared to be no better; he even became worse! Talk about nihilism! (Rampant in the 90s, after all, since we all that we’d never see the turn of the century!)
I even thought that was the theme of the movie: No one is good; not even one! And some are even worse!
But the kidnapping changed everything. Mel’s character was a man of principle up to that point; after all, he didn’t just kill everyone who got in his way. It made no sense.
So when I viewed Helgeland’s remake, everything came together. It was more like a tragedy. The hero, Porter, stayed true to his principles, flawed as they were, and suffered the consequences. Even though the last image is of him smiling, holding hands with Rosie, and even though he achieved his goal, you know he cannot survive. He even says so: “Just drive.”
The money will be hers, he finally provided her with the protection he had failed at before (as he had failed with his own wife); best of all, she can drive away from her past and start again.
I thought it was actually quite beautiful.

By: Nir Shalev

Nir Shalev — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:25:27 +0000

Unfortunately, you’d have to buy them both. But the DC has a commentary track from the writer/director and almost an hour of Behind the Scenes footage that showcase the two separate movies, including Mel Gobsons’s take on the marketing, seeing that his company “Icon” produced the movie(s).
There’s actually a segment called “One screenplay, two movies” or something along those lines which is the closest thing to being able to compare the two films. :O)

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:27:25 +0000

An interesting case study in Hollywood filmmaking. Clearly this is one case where the director’s cut is a meaningful concept. So much of the time anymore it seems like nothing but a marketing gimmick (let’s release a director’s cut with three minutes of random footage added in because then it’ll be unrated and that’ll sell more DVDs!). Does the Payback DVD release include both versions, or would one have to buy them separately to make the comparison?