Time: 119 Minutes
Cast:
Ben Affleck as Michael Jennings
Uma Thurman as Rachel Porter
Aaron Eckhart as James Rethrick
Colm Feore as John Wolfe
Peter Friedman as Attorney General Brown
Paul Giamatti as Shorty
Michael C. Hall as Agent Klein
Director: John Woo

Michael, a reverse engineer, is pursued by the policemen on charges of murder and treason. Suffering from amnesia, he is forced to piece together his past while on the run.

For some time I did hear about Paycheck, an action movie from John Woo starring Ben Affleck. I heard it wasn’t that good, but decided to check it out because of Woo’s involvement. Despite the mixed to negative response, I am glad that I checked it out.

This is one of the rare times where John Woo directs a sci fi movie. It’s a suspenseful identity thriller and has the classic plot of a protagonist who had his memory erased and is trying to figure out what is happening. It plays somewhat like an Alfred Hitchcock film, and apparently Woo did have him as an inspiration for this. The premise is intriguing, but the execution is disappointingly just okay, not fulfilling the potential. Parts of it made me wonder whether it was directed by the wrong person, especially considering it’s based on a Phillip K. Dick story. The end result felt like a worse version of Minority Report. Even Woo’s work is a bit restrained by his standards, and that PG-13 rating doesn’t help. While it doesnt make the most of its premise, it is at least enjoyable, and works as a light and fluffy blockbuster. The plot isn’t anything special, but is interesting enough and I was engaged to see where it would go next. It keeps up a good pace, and I was entertained over the 2 hour runtime.

Ben Affleck is decent as the main character as he’s trying to figure out what he’s involved in. The rest of the cast including Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti and Aaron Eckhart are also good.

So far out of John Woo’s filmography, Paycheck felt the least like one of his movies. Still, it is directed with a lot of energy, and even some of his trademarks make it into here. It’s sleek looking, and the action scenes are well shot and entertaining to watch, even if they don’t come close to reaching the action heights of Woo’s other films.

Paycheck is not one of John Woo’s best movies by any means. It doesn’t make the most of its premise and potential, but is nonetheless a twisty, energetic and entertaining sci-fi action thriller. It’s enjoyable enough, but isn’t one that’ll stick with you.