Product Description

WHAT SEEMED LIKE A BREEZY IDEA FOR AN ENGINEER TO NET HIM MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, LEAVES HIM ON THE RUN FOR HIS LIFE AND PIECING TOGETHER WHY HE'S BEING CHASED.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19569 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2004-05-18
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 119 minutes

Amazon.com
The brainy, paranoid science fiction of writer Philip K. Dick has inspired one visionary classic (Blade Runner) and two above-average action movies (Total Recall and Minority Report). Paycheck aspires to follow in their footsteps: An engineer (Ben Affleck, Chasing Amy) routinely agrees to have his memory erased after every job so that he doesn't know what he's done. But after the biggest job of his life, he discovers that not only has he refused a $90 million paycheck, he's sent himself an envelope full of things he doesn't recognize--and he doesn't remember doing any of this. As he unravels the plot, he discovers he's also fallen in love (with Uma Thurman, Kill Bill) and invented a dangerous device for his former boss (Aaron Eckhart, Erin Brockovich). Affleck is bland, the script ruins a cunning idea, and the direction--from the normally dynamic John Woo (Face/Off)--plods along, aimless and bored. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Relaxing fun, action-packed film
This isn't a brainy film, in fact, you definitely have to check your brain at the door for the last 20 minutes of "Paycheck." That's because during all the shooting, as USUAL, the bad guys have exceptionally poor aim. And the good guys can dodge point-blank bullets. But OTHER than that complaint, Paycheck delivers non-stop action and loads of fun in this sci-fi thriller.

Ben Affleck is fine as the lead, a thoughtless engineer-for-hire who reverse-engineers any latest technology to get a jump on the competition. Only, he has to have his memories erased so he won't go and reverse-engineer the device for someone else. Or anyway, that's the plot, so go with it. Uma Thurman plays a biologist who gets involved with Affleck and ends up being his sidekick, though Affleck has had her memory erased and hasn't a clue who she really is. Fun twist on a romance.

The extras are interesting; an alternate ending (yeah, it was weaker, good they changed it) and a segment about John Woo's technique, excellent for understanding this director's outlook on cinema. This is a fun, "entertain-me" film and if there are a few plot holes, you can overlook them.

Paycheck- Mostly Enjoyable
Paycheck, the new sci-fi action thriller from John Woo delivers some great action and entertains on a high scale. Ben Affleck is better, (eagerly trying to redeem himself after the huge debacle of Gigli). Uma Thurman does just fine and Joe Morton and Paul Giamatti shine.
Now the premise of this film might throw you off, but it shouldn't. Knowing that this film is based on the work of Philip K. Dick who wrote Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall you can expect something new. The film while similar to The Bourne Identity definetly has its differences. In fact, Matt Damon was originally offered the lead role in Paycheck but he declined because he said it was too similar to his role in The Bourne Identity.
Essentially, Affleck plays Mike Jennings, a big computer engineer. His clever mind has enabled him to make a new program. Mike is soon offered a huge job offer by his good friend Jimmy Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart). After he's done the job he gets a huge paycheck, hence the title of the film. But his memory but be erased, and so he'll have no recollection of what his job was, since it is very secretive and confidential. After his memory is erased he soon learns he has a girlfriend, played by Uma Thurman. She along with his good friend Shorty played nicely by Paul Giamatti are the only ones he can trust.
Though the movie isn't as predictable as it may seem, it does build up with some suspense. And as I stated earlier it delivers with the typical action of a John Woo flick. From here we get a great BMW motorcycle chase, (similar to M:I-2, though it's hard to say which was better) along with some other action sequences.
Paycheck is rated PG-13 for Intense Action Violence and Brief Language. The violences includes mainly gunplay, fistfights and explosions. Language is extremely mild. There's
also some sexual innuendo, but not explicit. All in all, a good movie to see over the holiday. Worth viewing in theatres and possibly owning on video or DVD.

IT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE!
Every now and then a movie passes by me and I totally dismiss it out of lack of interest. Paycheck was one of those. When it was first released, It didn't sound all that great, so I ignored it. Then by chance I came across a DVD of this movie and decided to watch it. What a surprise! This is now one of my favorite sci-fi movies. Had I known that it was based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick, I might have paid more attention to begin with. Especially since he was the author of Minority report and Blade Runner (under the written title of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"). One of the most outstanding things about this film is that there is no bloody gore, no sex, and not a lot of strong language. It is very fast paced, filled with action and suspense, great acting, and includes some of todays finest actors. I thought it one of Uma Thurman's best performances, and Ben Afflick was at his best. I would highly recommend this DVD (which also has some great bonus materials) to anyone who is a Sci-fi fan and loves action movies, because it is both. An excellent movie!