User Reviews

This adaptation of a Philip K. **** short story tries so hard to get things just right that it's almost embarrassing to watch it fall down a steep set of stairs in the second act. Ben Affleck is at his Gigli-esque worst, displaying a grand total of two emotions as the genius-level intellectual who's willing to wipe all memory of his work after each finished assignment in exchange for a few extra bucks. Affleck doesn't deserve the full blame for this film's failings, though, as even Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart can't perform any miracles with a script so overcooked. Stiff, senseless dialogue, uncomfortably dated pop culture references and an inherently flawed plot may have doomed it before the first role was cast. John Woo brings the goods during a few meaty action scenes, but even those suffer from a loose interpretation of physics, a series of facepalm-worthy resolutions and a star who's simply not believable as the action hero he plays. The high-concept introductory chapter works very well, but once this film sheds the skin of **** imagination and tries to take a few steps on its own, it stumbles in a series of bad directions.

Comme trop souvent avec les excellentes nouvelles de Philip K. **** adaptées au cinéma, on finit par se manger un simple film d’action à la con… pas totalement à la con bien sûr, car la base est (quand même) respectée mais son développement et son implémentation sans intelligence et sans conscience mènent quasiement à la ruine de l’oeuvre originelle. Dommage !Ben Affleck l’affligeant n’y aide pas non plus, ni Uma Thurman qui balade son petit cul de milf et puis c’est tout. Quant à John Woo, il délivre un film hollywoodien bien formaté, tout à fait correct mais loin de ses standards de Hongkong, bien évidemment. Paycheck se laisse donc regarder grâce à son idée de départ géniale (merci ****) mais sans plus !

Paycheck is a good early noughties thriller with a great cast. The plot is typical of films based on the works of Philip K. ****. In general, the very idea of ​erasing part of the memory is not badly beaten, it all looks not so fantastic. Paycheck as a thriller successfully keeps the viewer at the screen, there is suspense and a predictable ending. Moreover, the predictability of what is happening still has a plot explanation. Paycheck was undeservedly received by the audience. This is a really smart thriller, in which action scenes are well placed that do not allow you to get bored. Every thing in the film has a logical explanation.

Well scripted and well acted worth a watch It just needs a hd update and the film would fit well in today’s viewing

With some many time travel themed movies nowadays, this one doesn't appear very outstanding, but overall a satisfying work.

It's difficult at this point to dislike a Philip K. **** story, but even the mighty John Woo manages it with incredibly low expectations. The major problem is the lead, Ben Affleck, who is about as likable and charismatic as a wet blanket. Uma Thurman and Paul Giamatti give honest performances, but they aren't enough to save the lifeless plot. There's little to care about such an action film such as this one which takes its drama so seriously.

When I first saw this film I didn't even know it was a Philip K. **** short story. The movie came out almost 12 years ago but it didn't seem so far off until I realized I didn't remember why he’s being chased. I remembered some of the action scenes and the mystery solving so in my mind it looked more like an action than sci-fi movie. The plot is basically centered around the action, the car chases, gunshots, and explosions - not at a Michael Bay level - but still a very action-centered movie. It made the characters looks quite one-dimensional It's funny how this futuristic sci-fi movie is a bit off. I mean the movie doesn't really hold up today. It's still a good science fiction - I meant action - story and I enjoyed watching it, maybe even more now that I recognize all of the supporting cast, but parts of the movie looked...fake I guess, or like it was made in the 80s instead of the 00s. Paycheck was awesome when I saw it as a kid, it’s still a pleasant movie to watch but it’s definitely not a film for a nitpicking audience. @wornoutspines

While you may not know the name Phillip K. ****, many of the biggest Science Fiction films of the last thirty years have been adaptations of his work. **** is responsible for the films Blade Runner, The Terminator, Total Recall, Minority Report, and Paycheck just to name a few. Due to the popularity of his work in film and how successful they've been, even a lesser known work like Paycheck has been made into a film. The story includes many of the action sequences and interesting characters associated with **** stories, but Paycheck does lack the futuristic Science Fiction that has become **** signature, which is the main reason this story isn't as well known as his other works. The story takes place in modern day, where a man is offered an irresistible deal. Jennings (Ben Affleck) is told that if he works on a secret project for the next 3 years, he will receive 100 million dollars. The only catch being that after the 3 years are up, Jennings memory will be erased and he will have no idea what he worked on. As expected, Jennings accepts the deal and returns to his life 3 years later, but nothing is that simple. Soon everyone from the FBI to bounty hunters show up trying to get to him, and the only clues he has come from an envelope he sent himself, containing 19 random items that seem to have little or no value. Ben Affleck stars and by this point we all know how I feel about him. Affleck is a terrific Director, who seems to have little interest in acting anymore. Paycheck however is a 2003 film, a time before Affleck had proven himself and he shows that rare charisma that is only present in his real early work. His performance is outstanding and aided further by his chemistry with co-star Uma Thurman. Thurman is another performer who I find isn't very good unless she's in very specific type of role, and fortunately for Affleck, this is one of those roles. Paycheck is missing the big signature associated with **** work and will be somewhat disappointing to his fans. I did miss the futuristic element, but I was intrigued by the mystery Jennings was trying to solve and the 19 items. Combined with the action sequences, (that are always top notch) Paycheck isn't what I expected, but was still very well done and definitely worth watching.

Paycheck is one of those movies that had the potential to be really, truly great, but due to a series of small problems, ended up as less than it could have been and largely ignored. In short (and you can get this from the trailer), Ben Affleck plays a gifted engineer whose particular talent lies in reverse-engineering a company's product so that a competitor can get a head-start to market. In order to maintain deniability, his memory of each job is wiped, leaving him with just a paycheck (hence the title). But after accepting a long-term job, he finds himself a wanted man with no clue why, just a lot of questions. An outstanding premise. It is made all the better by creative writing, particularly the inclusion of a MacGuyver-esque puzzle that wends its way through the entire plot of the film. Dialogue is generally well written, only rarely losing its real-world edge (which is forgivable). Outstanding performances are turned in by Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Aaron Eckhart, Colm Feore, and Joe Morton -- who, although given a relatively thin part, managed to turn it into a major, dynamic element of the plot and really shines. John Powell's original score was outstanding and a perfect balance of driving action music and reflective melodies when appropriate. Really, the faults of the film lie with John Woo, whose now-trite directorial hallmarks end up making their appearances in the film self-ridicule rather than poignant moment. (John, if you're reading: get rid of the flying dove gimmick. It was ridiculous in Mission Impossible 2, and it was ridiculous here. It's a joke, not art.) Woo is still an excellent action director, and the car chases, fight sequences, and other action-driven sections of the film do well by him. But someone else needs to take over when the fists and tires aren't flying; it's only the innate acting ability of people like Affleck, Thurman, and others (did I mention Joe Morton did a great job?) that save some sections of the film. Casting was bang-on, though, and Paul Giamatti does an A+ perfect job as the Voice of Reason and comic relief -- one of those blessed times that you don't groan inwardly when the comic relief character shows up; Giamatti does an exemplary job. And even though the film is, as of this writing, nearly a decade old, it doesn't come off as stale sci-fi -- a rarity. It is definitely worth watching if you're any kind of sci-fi fan (it comes from the mind of Philip K **** out how many of his stories became wildly popular films) -- find a copy and have fun.

I think that this movie has many twists and turns that is enough to keep people on the edge of their seats. And it surely has something to tell. It mentioned that predicting the future is something that we should not try to do. After all, I think that this is a very nice movie.