Payback (Straight Up: The Director's Cut)
Paramount
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Porter and Val carry off a successful heist, but then Val makes several mistakes: he steals Porter's cut of the money, he steals Porter's wife, and he tries to kill him. Now Porter is out for payback. He wants his cut and he is determined to get it, come what may.

There was a time when something attached to Mel Gibson meant that it was a fun escape. He didn't carry any real controversies on his back, he wasn't busted while spewing out venomous remarks. He was simply an action hero, comedian, romantic lead, box office gold. Payback was a bit of a change of pace as it put Gibson in the role of a villain. Sort of. Payback is a film in which everyone is a villain. Gibson is the hero by default as he's the one with something of a heart.

This is an interesting DVD release. Sure, it's a director's cut, but that's a watered down title now. Most of the time it's a marketing ploy to reinvigorate a company's DVD catalogue. Toss in a few minutes of deleted scenes, slap a "director's cut" label on it and watch the money role in without having to invest much into it. Payback is different. The history of the film is one in which writer/director Brian Helgeland was asked to change things to make it more user friendly. Helgeland wouldn't budge and the film ultimately moved on without him. This is apparently Helgeland's vision.

Having not seen the theatrical cut of Payback, I can't really compare the two very well. I did find the director's cut to not be as shocking as I expected. Gibson is still a charmer, albeit one with a bit of a darker side. However, going through the features and listening to the comments, I think I'm actually more inclined to go with the studio on this one. At the very least, I have an interest in tracking the theatrical version down simply to compare the two as they do sound legitimately different (versus the more common inserting excess footage route).

Video: How's it look?
The enhanced widescreen picture is something of a disappointment. It's extremely grainy at times and there doesn't appear to be enough contrast. Granted, there are a lot of dark colours in the film's palette, but much of the movie appears to be just a little off. It's not horrible, but it's not great either.

Audio: How's it sound?
The bullets fly with the excellent 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround soundtrack. There's also a Dolby 2.0 Surround track as well.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• Writer/director Brian Helgeland offers a strong audio commentary that looks at his original aims for the film, his influences and the production.
• "Paybacks Are a Bitch" is a 50-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that explores the making of the film.
• The most interesting special feature on the disc is "Same Story – Different Movie: Creating Payback: the Director's Cut". This 28-minute featurette is refreshingly honest in the process of Helgeland refusing to bow to studio pressures to change his vision on the original film and ultimately stepping aside. Mel Gibson is also included in extensive interview segments.
• "The Hunter: A Conversation With Author Donald E. Westlake" is what it says it is. Westlake's book provided the inspiration for the film.
• Trailers for Braveheart, Babel and CSI DVD releases.
• English subtitles.

Closing Thoughts
Payback: The Director's Cut is a solid enough action comedy, albeit one that had a lot of potential to be wittier and darker. This DVD is interesting for the fact that it is honest in its deconstruction of the behind-the-scenes action. This might even be a case where you'll want to get the DVD for the Hollywood business side of things rather than the film itself.


Review brought to you by our friend Ryan @ Movie-Views.com