Payback: an homage to 1970s crime films

By Rafael Abreu / Columnist

Originally released in 1999, and starring Mel Gibson, “Payback” is an old fashioned, noir-influenced revenge film, based on the pulp fiction novel “The Hunter” by Richard Stark.

The film is an homage to 1970s crime films, featuring a bad guy as our protagonist with ‘70s and noir style music. Also, depending on which version you see, the film is tinted blue bleach and uses narration, further making it a throwback noir movie.

However, director Brian Helgeland had a different film in mind, one which featured an unsympathetic protagonist — who was made a bit more likeable in the theatrical version — a somewhat different soundtrack, no voice over narration and a completely different ending. Helgeland released his director’s cut in 2006, so there are now two versions of the same movie: The original theatrical cut and the “Straight Up” director’s cut.

In both versions, Porter, played by Gibson, is out for revenge for being betrayed, and more importantly, wants his share of some robbed money. The sum may only be $70,000, but Porter is determined to get it no matter what. Throughout “Payback,” Porter goes through crooked cops, disposable men and the top people in organized crime, never once caring about the consequences.

The characters he runs into are all great, from a drug dealer, to the crooked cops, to triad gang members and a dominatrix. Porter himself is a great character, definitely fitting the role of a bad guy, especially in the director’s cut. Even though we shouldn’t really sympathize with him, I think he’s a pretty cool guy either way, definitely harking back to those ’70 crime protagonists of old.

“Payback” of course works on the technical side of things, providing great direction and scenes, ranging from establishing shots, to action scenes, to even minor things one may not give much attention to. The blue tinted theatrical version doesn’t look too bad either, but I much prefer the non-tinted look of the director’s cut, which really shows the colors of the world and characters.

The music in the film is also good in both versions, but I think the director’s cut also wins out here because it uses no licensed music. The score was re-written for this cut and matches the mood all too well. The score of the theatrical cut is good and even a little self-aware, while the score of the director’s cut is more low-key, somewhat aware of what it is but still playing it serious.

The voice over narration works for what is arguably a funnier and lighter-hearted theatrical version, not to mention the more bombastic score. Yes, “Payback” does have some humor in it, and the film was heavily marketed this way, but do not mistake “Payback” for being very funny. This is especially true with the director’s cut, which has no voice over narration and is definitely not lighthearted – not that it was ever lighthearted to begin with. There’s still humor, but it’s less frequent. And of course, there are the different endings, which I won’t spoil. Needless to say, one’s more accessible than the other, but one definitely suits the overall film better than the other.

As can be gathered, I much prefer the “Straight Up” director’s cut of “Payback.” In fact, the director’s cut is the only version available on Blu-ray and DVD — in the U.S. anyway. If you want to buy the original on DVD, you’ll have to track down, since it’s now out-of-print. In truth, I think both versions are good for what they are, but I have no problems forever sticking with the director’s cut. I highly recommend the film in general for its originality, style and Mel Gibson. It’s up to you which version you watch or watch first.

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