Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.
Payback is a stylish neo-noir revenge thriller with a genuinely distinctive visual identity — desaturated blue-grey cinematography gives it a cold, grimy texture that stands out among late-90s action films. Mel Gibson's Porter is an engaging anti-hero and the ensemble (Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Lucy Liu, James Coburn) deliver solid, lived-in performances that lift serviceable material. The plot is a fairly conventional 'one man against the mob' revenge yarn adapted from Donald Westlake's Parker novels, hitting expected beats without major surprise. Novelty is moderate — the tone is distinctive but the revenge-thriller framework is well-trodden. The ending, particularly in the theatrical cut, feels abrupt and oddly flat, undercutting the momentum built through the film's lean, punchy midsection.