Paycheck (2003)

Director:

John Woo

Writers (WGA):

Philip K. Dick (short story)
Dean Georgaris (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller | Action | Mystery

Tagline:

Remember the future.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Engineer | Computer Engineer | FBI | Destiny | Amnesia

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Ben Affleck	...	Jennings
Aaron Eckhart	...	Rethrick
Uma Thurman	...	Rachel
Paul Giamatti	...	Shorty
Colm Feore	...	Wolfe
Joe Morton	...	Agent Dodge
Michael C. Hall	...	Agent Klein
Peter Friedman	...	Attorney General Brown
Kathryn Morris	...	Rita Dunne
Ivana Milicevic	...	Maya-Rachel
Christopher Kennedy	...	Stevens
Fulvio Cecere	...	Agent Fuman
John Cassini	...	Agent Mitchell
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Jude - Guard
Michelle Harrison	...	Jane

Also Known As:

La paye (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense action violence and brief language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:14 | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Burrard SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [John Woo] [reflections]When Jennings meets with the Rachel-Double in the Cafe, he sees her in the silver top of a sugar pot.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double when Jennings falls from the catwalk.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Holographic Woman: It's time to wake up... and get a life. We live in a 3-dimensional world. Until now, the world of computing has been a flat world, consisting of 2-dimensional imagery. Now, through the use of exclusive breakthrough technology, ARC has made it possible for you to get a life. A-Life, where we can work and play in a lifelike world of 3-dimensional reality. A-Life, the living monitor.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The DiCaprio Code (2006)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to You

some clever plotting done in by man-on-the-run cliches

Though futuristic in look and tone, John Woo's `Paycheck' is really a throwback to that oldie about the man who wakes up one day as an amnesiac only to find himself being pursued by the authorities for a crime he may or may not have committed (just about every other Hitchcock film seemed to be built on this premise to one extent or another). The difference is that Michael Jennings is an amnesiac by choice, a brilliant engineer and scientist whose job it is to develop top-secret inventions for hi tech corporations. Once he's delivered the goods, he allows his memory to be erased – thereby rendering him innocuous as a security threat - in exchange for the lucrative paychecks the companies offer him.

Yet another of the many recent adaptations of a Phillip Dick story, `Paycheck' begins in the present day, a strange choice on the part of the filmmakers actually, for in this film's view of 2004, the technology for memory erasure seems to be in full swing and widely accepted (perhaps the producers didn't want to have to deal with the expense or bother of creating futuristic designs for their sets and costumes). The majority of the story, however, takes place in 2007, after Jennings `wakes up' from a three-year stint working on a secret project about which he can remember nothing. The trouble is that things haven't quite worked out the way Jennings planned as he finds himself the quarry of both the FBI and the organization for which he was working. Of course, Jennings doesn't know why. As is customary with films of this type, we uncover the clues and piece together the picture right along with the increasingly more enlightened main character.

It's that piecing together that is the sole factor of interest in `Paycheck,' for Dick is clearly a writer with a fertile imagination and a gift for mind-bending storytelling. When the film sticks to unraveling its plot complications, it is generally sharp, intriguing and thought-provoking. Too often, though, the film degenerates into a collection of man-on-the-run, action movie clichés. Although the special effects are occasionally impressive, the far-too-frequent chase sequences defy all logic and believability. In fact, a number of scenes actually elicit a few unwanted giggles, so ludicrous and over-the-top are the setup and execution. Director Woo, past master of action spectaculars, is clearly working on autopilot in this film.

There isn't much to say about the acting, either. Although Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman - as the woman Jennings fell in love with during the three years, but whom he can no longer remember - do their best with the characters assigned to them, neither is given much chance to expand beyond the stereotypical confines of their respective roles.

When it comes to all those involved in this film, I suspect that Jennings isn't the only one here working solely for the paycheck.