Paycheck

Cast, Etc.
Dir. John Woo, Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, score by John Powell, rated PG-13, 2003

Synopsis
A man reclaims his life after he willingly had his memory wiped of three years' experience.

Review
Would you allow your memory of a certain amount of time to be erased for a certain amount of money? If that amount of money were enough to "set you for life," would your answer change? That's the premise of the film Paycheck. The film begins with Jennings (Affleck) acquiring a new piece of computer technology and being locked away for three months. He works on understanding the computer and ends up creating one of his own, improving it. At the end of three months, he's let out with his computer and his memory is altered so he doesn't remember any of the previous three months. In exchange, he's paid quite a lot of money and life goes on. It seems as if Jennings does this frequently for a company run by one of his friends Rethrick (Eckhart). When Rethrick tells him of an opportunity to do the same type of work, but for three years and enough money for the man to live on the rest of his life, Jennings agrees. After the three years, he finds out the money he thought he was getting is not in the account. Further discrepancies lead to him being arrested by the FBI for interrogation into bad things being done by someone he apparently worked with. Using ordinary items he "left" himself as clues, he escapes from the FBI and goes about trying to recreate what happened that left him in such a state. What follows is an interesting film based on a wonderful premise. The idea of trying to use ordinary items (paper clip, sunglasses, subway token) to lead yourself to a certain answer or outcome is quite intriguing and keeps the viewer watching. Unfortunately, Affleck is just not a good actor; he pulls of the more action-oriented parts of the film well, but when it comes to drama, he's lacking. Also, unfortunately, Uma Thurman is under-utilized as Jennings' love interest Rachel and seems to be trapped in the movie. The supporting cast is adequate also. It is the premise and puzzle of the movie that keeps it going. This is a John Woo film, so there is a lot of slow-motion action, as well as the token white doves (watch for them!). Woo is very good with action and it shows. The film almost degenerates at the end into some weird sci-fi premise (which I won't mention since it would give a lot of the film away), but keeps just above it to be somewhat realistic.

Highlights
the premise; the use of the items

Rating
I give this film a sparkling water rating; if not for the premise and the good direction, the sub-par acting and sometimes bad dialogue and interaction would make it a water film. As it is, it's intriguing and fun to watch. As a thriller, it's a bit above average. The villain is pretty good, but a bit predictable. The score by Powell is average and forgettable.