Payback

1999 Directed by Brian Helgeland

No More Mr. Nice Guy.

With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.

Mel Gibson Gregg Henry Maria Bello David Paymer Bill Duke Deborah Kara Unger John Glover William Devane Lucy Liu Jack Conley Kris Kristofferson Mark Alfa Kwame Amoaku Justin Ashforth Len Bajenski James Coburn Trevor St. John Freddy Rodríguez Kate Buddeke Price Carson Jeff Imada

Alternative Titles

Payback: Straight Up, Payback (Director's Cut), Naplata duga, Arved klaariks, Vraćanje duga, Porter, Payback Directors Cut

action crime drama

100 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Travis Lytle ★★★★ 6

An action-laden throwback to both film noir and the 1970s, Brian Helgeland's "Payback" offers a bone-rattling, guns-blazing good time. A revenge thriller with a tongue-in-cheek touch of humor and a teeth-jarring punch, the film rides its rock solid cast and pervasive sense of cool to explosively entertaining heights.
The story revolves around Mel Gibson's Porter, an anti-hero with a score worth $70,000 to settle. The plot finds Porter chasing down his city's criminal elements to reclaim the aforementioned figure. Fist fights, gun battles, and muscle cars used as weapons punctuate the story that combines pith, violence, and personality.
Helgeland unapologetically creates a cinematic canvas consisting equal parts of crime pictures from the past. Blues and blacks ooze a sort of…
Review by Bryan Espitia ★★★★½

I don't know what the current stance is on Payback, but it's pretty fucking awesome and one of the more underrated 90s action-thrillers. Mel Gibson is perfect, it's got a cool cast of character actors, a funky 70s-style score, and just the right amount sardonic edge. Plus, "expensive horizontal refreshment" might be the greatest euphemism I've ever heard.
Review by ChandraKanth❄ ★★★★

Well made action thriller.
Just when you think it has cooled down, it turns around and takes you for a ride.
Review by Andy Summers ★★★½ 3

As many of my LB chums have already attested Lee Marvin was a serious bad-ass (I'm looking at you Mr Todd Gaines). Despite his iconic roles in The Dirty Dozen and Cat Ballou, some consider his turn in John Boorman's Point Blank as his quintessential performance of brilliance. This loose remake with a definite DNA strand of Boorman's film does have its moments as Mel Gibson goes on a revenge rampage after being double-crossed. Unfortunately for the hot-headed Gibson even though he's pretty good, you can't help but compare him to Marvin at his very best.
It's all about revenge here. Gibson's Porter is a professional thief who gets double-crossed and left for dead by his partner and his own…
Review by Grooveman ★★★★ 6

"So go boil an egg"
Review by 🚫matthew🚫 ★★★★½ 2

Honestly? One of my all time favs. I've watched this about a dozen times, ever since I bought the VHS from HMV way back in 1999 or thereabouts. The crisp blue cinematography, the dark humour, the violence, the cleverness. I love it. I've only seen the director's cut once, and I remember being a bit disappointed in it. That cut substitutes the jokes for moral ambiguity, which I'm usually okay with, but I prefer my Payback to have alligator suitcase jokes. I purchased a European Blu-ray with both cuts on one disc (not ideal in terms of bitrate) because I'm fairly certain this is the only way to see the theatrical cut in HD. It cost me 11 dollars so…
Review by FilmApe ★★★★ 1

Mel Gibson takes no nonsense from anybody, and anybody that does give him nonsense gets their head slammed into the dividing glass of a taxi cab, or their knee shot, or their body blown up.
Review by Steve G 🐝 ★★★★ 7

The 80s and 90s Neo-Noir Project
A bit of an odd one to start off this project with as, technically, this wasn't a film from the 1990s as you can see from the date but rather a version of a film from that decade. And right from the arse-end of it too.
But having put Payback in the project, I thought I'd take the opportunity to watch Brian Helgeland's preferred cut only to find out that it has its own entry on here - and even on IMDb, for that matter. I don't remember the theatrical cut well enough to be able to comment on whether this is an improvement or not, but I think it's fair to say that…
Review by Gramercy Riff ★★★½

A heavy crash, a heist, betrayal, attempted murder, revenge, prostitutes, crooked cops, triads, a slimy middle guy, a crime syndicate called The Outfit with remarkable leadership and a guy who goes to great lengths to get his 140k, no wait, 70k back. Helgeland's attempt at a flashy action noir (mumbling voice over? check) lacks a bit of flair and I probably would have picked somebody else in the lead, but a determined motherfucker with only a last name is cool no matter what. A dark blue, violent, sadistic and merciless movie with bits of cold humor and a hugely enjoyable support cast, including a lovely Asian dominatrix that will steal your heart. If she doesn't punch it out first. Nothing really stands out, but that doesn't stop Payback from being entertaining all the way through.
Review by Pube ★★★★ 2

I’ve always been a fan of documentaries. When done right, they teach you something new while conveying an overwhelming sense of realism. Payback: Straight Up is a documentary done right. Filmmaker Brian Helgeland follows Mel Gibson around with his camera crew for one day. During this time, Gibson chain smokes, yells a lot, and beats on several people, including women. Nobody can possibly condone Gibson’s actions and Helgeland isn’t trying to. Instead, this film serves as a brief window into the controversial life and psyche of Mel Gibson. It’s an honest look at a flawed human being that will make the audience question their own morality. This doc isn’t perfect and it’s subject matter can be a lot to take in, but I’d put Payback: Straight Up right up there in the pantheon of revered documentaries with the likes of Man on Wire, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and The Thin Blue Line.
Review by More_Badass ★★★★

It’s almost unfair, cruel even, that every Parker adaptation till the end of time will exist in the shadow of Lee Marvin and Point Blank. John Flynn’s The Outfit had the tough-guy underworld and just-business bluntness; Michel Constantin in Pillaged had the perfect craggy leathery physicality. But neither movie captured Parker’s mean-bastard relentlessness like Marvin, and neither does Gibson.
Payback (Straight Up cut) is a solid attempt though, one with clear reverence for Point Blank and for Parker. That opening is like an ode to both: that bridge crossing of The Hunter’s first lines and the rhythmic beat of driven footsteps. Mel Gibson, here “Porter”, just wants his $70,000 from the Syndicate, shooting, smashing, outwitting his way through every obstacle…
Review by Scott Anderson ★★★½

In the search for 80s/90s action films I hadn't seen yet I stumbled upon this bad boy. Mel Gibson plays a merciless thug intent on destroying an entire crime syndicate and getting his money back, just on the sheer principle of being betrayed in the first place rather than for any monetary reward. While I admit it's a bit over the top in places and the overall tone wavers back and forth between being overly serious and completely ridiculous, there's no denying I enjoyed the hell out of it. Looking forward to the director's cut at some stage.

Recent reviews

Review by Eumeswil

"forgot my cigarettes"
Review by Riccap98 ★★★

I don't know, in some scenes it felt like it tried too hard to be cool (especially with its musical choices and some of the one-liners), in others it was genuinely entertaining (it has a pretty decent humour and I kinda liked some of the action scenes and plot twists). What I really didn't like about it, though, was the palette: it felt way too dark and unreal to me, it looked like a Zack Snyder movie.
Review by Stewart Schuster ★★½ 1

I liked this slightly more than the last time I watched it. A lot of my points from my previous review still stand, but, for some reason, I was able to enjoy it for what it is a little more this time around.
Review by horrorog ★★★½

Theatrical version. Another rewatch, Mel Gilbson getting revenge. Fun ride. The producers cut is pretty different, I prefer the theatrical.
Review by Silky31 ★★

Christ that was dreadful
Review by Zekedre ★★★

Lucy Liu...
Review by FlicksTracy ★★★½

Last Christmas, I got a 20-film pack of DVD's that were billed as some of the most iconic of the 1980s and 1990s. On there was this, the director's cut of Payback that stars Mel Gibson. I've never seen the original cut, so I'm logging this, and will then seek out the original cut afterwards. With all of that being said, I did enjoy Payback: Straight Up! Gibson does a great job portraying rough-around-the-edges thief Porter, and the tight 90 minutes moves along really well through some well-filmed action sequences. Plus, the score is really underrated! At times it can be a bit convoluted, and some of the over-the-top bits don't really work with the more gritty tone it's going for, but overall it's a good action movie to pass the time. I'm very interested to compare this with the original cut now!
Review by HorrorFlicks ★★★½

Theatrical version. Another rewatch, Mel Gilbson getting revenge. Fun ride. The producers cut is pretty different, I prefer the theatrical.
Review by spookyelektrik ★★★

Not great. Not bad. Somewhere in between.
Review by Nick Klassen ★★★★½

This is Mel Gibson channeling his inner asshole and I love it!
Review by alphonse0 ★★★★ 1

Turns out the DVD I have has both the original and the directors cut and last night I accidentally watched the original. I know nobody cares but this shit is so confusing. Turns out the d.c doesn’t even have Kris kristofferson which is insane cause he’s sick in this.
Review by rhodesyiow ★½ 1

No one comes out of this looking good. This movie is no where near as gritty, cool, stylish or funny as it thinks it is. Gibson's loveable rogue routine can't save it. One of the nails in the coffin of his leading man career.