I saw some previews for Paycheck and thought it looked interesting. I decided to see it, and I did enjoy the movie.
Michael Jennings was a reverse engineer. He would take apart some new device to figure out how it worked and then make a new, better version for whoever had hired him. He usually worked on a project for a few months. Once he finished a project, all his memories associated with the work on that project were erased. His friend Shorty did the erasing, which was a dangerous procedure. Soon after he finished a project, he was offered another job that would take two or three years to finish. In return, he’d earn his biggest paycheck ever.
Jimmy Rethrick, a friend of Mike’s, owned a successful business. Jimmy offered Mike the job, only saying that it involved optics. Mike was offered the job at a party where he met Rachael Porter, a biologist that worked for Jimmy’s company. Mike decided to take the job. He would be living on the business complex and he couldn’t take anything inside with him. He was told he’d get his things back when he was finished. Wolfe worked with Jimmy and took care of the memory erasing. He used drugs instead of the way Shorty did it.
Mike came too after his memory of the past three years was erased. Jimmy said that the project was successful. Mike went to sign some papers related to the work and discovered that he’d signed away his paycheck a few weeks before. All he got was an envelope containing nineteen items. It didn’t make sense to him that he would have done that. Mike was very confused by what was going on. He tried to figure out what was going on. Men were trying to kill him and he didn’t know who to trust. The FBI and Attorney General were very interested in whatever Mike had designed for Jimmy. He did contact Shorty and even met Rachael again.
CAST
Ben Affleck - Mike Jennings
Aaron Eckhart - Jimmy Rethrick
Uma Thurman - Rachael Porter
Paul Giamatti - Shorty
Coln Feore - Wolfe
Joe Morton - Agent Dodge
Michael C. Hall - Attorney General Brown
John Woo - Director
Paycheck was released on Christmas Day of 2003. The movie was rated PG-13 and 110 minutes long. It was based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Other movies like Minority Report, Imposter, and Total Recall have been based on other short stories by Dick. I haven’t read the short story this movie was based on, so I don’t know how close to the story the movie stayed.
Paycheck was an interesting movie. There were a few scenes that dragged a little, but the movie was fast paced over all. I didn’t think the movie was rushed. It kept my interest throughout and never bored me. The plot was a bit different, but that was fine with me. The movie is a little different, and it could be too different for some. People need to keep an open mind when watching this movie to fully enjoy it. People who don’t like movies that are different may want to avoid this one.
Before seeing Paycheck, I thought that it was set in the future. There were a few dates given during the movie that showed that I was wrong about that - at least when the movie started. After it was set up that Mike was going to work for Jimmy and that it would take a few years, the movie did jump forward three years to after Mike was finished with the work. Memory erasing seemed to be common, though it was dangerous. That was one of the strangest things in the movie. What Mike created during the three years was different too. It wasn’t shown during any previews what Mike made, so it was really the memory erasing that made me think the movie was set in the future. The clothing, buildings, and cars didn’t look futuristic like they have in some other movies.
There was action in several scenes of Paycheck. There were fights, shootings, and chases in the movie. There was some violence in some scenes, but it wasn’t excessive. There was some suspense in the movie as well. I rarely knew what would happen next. I only figured out a few things. There was some mystery concerning why Mike gave up his paycheck and what he made for Jimmy, but that got resolved. Mike and Rachael got involved while Mike was working on the project, but because of the memory erasing, he didn’t remember that. There were no sex scenes in the movie, but there were things that hinted that Mike and Rachael had been intimate.
Mike was the main character and in almost every scene of the movie. Even he wasn’t that well developed though. Rachael was in less of the movie and was less than developed than Mike. Jimmy and Wolfe weren’t around much and were flat characters. Shorty was in less of the movie than Jimmy and Wolfe, and was developed less. A few other characters turned up a few times, like the Attorney General and some FBI agents. The acting was all right, but nothing that great. Ben Affleck was okay in most of the movie, but he had some very strange expressions at times. It looked like he was in pain a few times when there was no reason for that. Uma Thurman was fine as Rachael. She did get to fight in a few scenes and did a good job with that. Aaron Eckhart was really good as Jimmy. The first time I saw him I didn’t like him. I think it was something with how his hair was fixed that looked weird to me. I have seen Eckhart in some other movies, and he has played a variety of different characters. Jimmy was a supporting character, but Eckhart was in more of this movie than he was in Nurse Betty or The Missing.
CHARACTERS
Mike - He was a reverse engineer. He worked for different companies. Once he finished a project, his memory of the work was erased. He took a job that would take a few years instead of months because of the lure of the huge paycheck. He was determined to figure out what was going on once he’d finished the project.
Rachael - She was a biologist working for Jimmy. It really wasn’t explained what her work would be used for. She became involved with Mike. She was a strong, determined woman.
Shorty - He was Mike’s friend. Shorty worked with Mike and took care of erasing the memories. Shorty wasn’t involved in the project that Mike did for Jimmy. Before that project started, Shorty was worried about Mike.
Jimmy - He was an old friend of Mike’s. Jimmy owned a large, successful business. He hired Mike to work on a top secret project. Jimmy was pleased with the work Mike did, but other things didn’t go like he planned.
Wolfe - He worked for Jimmy. Wolfe took care of erasing Mike’s memories once the project was done. Wolfe never questioned what his boss told him to do.
Paycheck was a good mindless, entertaining, action movie. I have seen better, but it was enjoyable to watch. People who like movies that are a little different may like this one. Fans of any of the actors may enjoy the movie as well.
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