1999. 100 Minutes. Rated R
Quote: I’m not threatening you, I’m threatening Carter.
Everybody likes a good bad guy. Me? I like to root for the bad guy. I mean, not all the time, but definitely more than most. Now let’s talk about Mel Gibson for a second.
Payback – Icon Entertainment International
Most people I know, they don’t like him much.
It could be that he hasn’t been making too many good movies these days, or it could be that he seems to always get recorded while drunk and saying hateful things so much. Probably one of those things.
In any case, when I think of Mel, I don’t think great thoughts. I think of him, basically, as a not nice guy. That doesn’t meant that he didn’t entertain me a lot over the years. Whether it was in the big ones like the Lethal Weapon series or Braveheart, heavy dramas like Ransom, even comedies like Maverick…. I was a fan (I mean you know, before all the stuff).
My all time favorite Mel Gibson movie? It was never one of those previously mentioned. It was one that NOBODY ever talked about for some reason. He was already big and famous too, so it really makes no sense.
My favorite was always Payback. Still is.
Payback tells the story of Porter (Mel Gibson). Porter isn’t a good guy, he’s not your friend, and he doesn’t even like smiling. The movie begins with Porter lying on a dirty operating table, with two bullets in his back. After robbing some gangsters, his partner double crosses him, leaves him for dead and well, takes off with the loot. Fast forward a few months. Porter is back on his feet and out for revenge. He’s got a slight advantage, too; everyone thinks he’s dead.
The List:
- The Man
Porter is a great character. He is hard-headed, tough as nails, and doesn’t give two ounces of thought about anyone, I mean, except the pretty girl (Maria Bello) (always a pretty girl, isn’t there). He stands tall against the odds. The cops are after him, the mob is after him, and a large profile crime syndicate known as The Outfit, they’re after him too. Nobody likes the guy. He takes more than his share of abuse, and just keeps on trucking. One by one he… ummm… pays visits to the guys he needs to see. He pushes the envelope, to say the least.
- The Myth
As the film progresses, so does his legend. You keep thinking you have a handle on what’s going on and who the bad guy is, but then Porter kills whoever it is you are focusing on. He fears no one and thus, his star is on the rise more and more from start to finish. Nobody tends to listen to him even after all the drama he puts them through, either. They keep screwing up the number of dollars he’s owed too. They are mostly more concerned with what they are going to do to him, than what he could potentially do to them. Not the best idea.
- The Confrontations
This movie is about The Outfit; they are Porter’s opposition. Really, it’s about Porter being a badass, though. Porter’s fearless pursuit of The Outfit and the quest to regain the mere seventy grand he’s owed is legendary. We see traits that other Gibson characters of the past have encompassed, a bit more raw, though. Mel Gibson always played the hard-nosed, brave-hearted, fearless good guy. Porter, though? He’s not a good guy, remember. He be breaking rules left and right in this one. You’ll be rooting for him for certain, but at no point will you be confused enough to call him a good guy.
One by one you’ll see A-name tough guys do their worst against Porter. From a group of Asian mobsters, to one of the original Magnificent Seven (James Coburn) to Outfit leader himself… Kris Kristofferson. The dialogue is spicy. The plot is simple and nothing’s over-involved. It doesn’t need to be. Enjoy.
(end of The List)
Oh, few things. Keep your eyes peeled for a young Lucy Liu. She’s a little different in this picture than what you’re used to, no doubt. Swinging soundtrack as well, considering what we are really dealing with here: Dean Martin, James Brown, B.B. King, Lou Rawls–not exactly a rock concert for this bullet fest. It’s all good, though. Everything fits nicely.
