5 out of 5

Director: Brian Helgeland

This is a film that is enhanced with background knowledge. The movie, by itself, is great, but comparing it with its original cut makes it seem that much better – especially if you are a fan of the character and book on which its based. Payback is a revenge tale, and is probably the version of Mel that the director of Edge of Darkness was looking for, but without the material to inspire such a guttural performance. If you havent seen the movie, its no good to give you a plot explanation, because thats half the fun – the original version gave you background first so youd sympathize with the lead (Porter, played by Mel), but here… here its done right: Mel Gibson walks back into town and does some vile things – stealing from the homeless, beating women – before were slowly fed the reasons why he does what he does, and why hes out to get $70,000 he feels hes owed. Something that interestingly keeps it all from feeling a bit took bleak is the weird jazzy score. This version was re-scored and it is the music that gives it a noir feel, even though it is a crime story. Its off-setting at times, but then it works, highlighting the unbelievable extremes of these characters. Watch the movie, then watch the original, then read the background on wikipedia, then listen to the directors commentary. Its worth it to get the full impact. Bleak stuff, but great.