Both star and director seem to be more interested in playing off perceptions of Gibson's on-screen persona than in actually telling the story, which lurches along from one violent set piece to the next.
Comment
03/05/02
Payback (1999)
51
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:69
Fresh:35
Rotten:34
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Sadistic violence and rote humor saddle a predictable action premise.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Mel Gibson is Porter, a ruthless criminal, who is gunned down by his wife and friend after they rob an Asian gang. When Porter survives the attack, he makes it his mission to exact revenge on his... [More]
Starring: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Deborah Unger
Director: Brian Helgeland
Reviews for Payback
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03/25/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/09/06
Top CriticVery good fun!
01/01/00
Top CriticIt's a good, strong shot for fans who like their crime stories rough and no-nonsense.
01/01/00
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01/01/00
A tough, entertaining homage to the kind of gritty '70s crime film that long ago gave way to a slicker yet tamer form of action movie ... Both the studio's cut and Helgeland's cut work about equally well.
05/10/07
Like its main character, Payback is entertainingly true to itself, and in the absence of any real imagination or ingenuity, for an audience tired of movies that trip over themselves trying to please, that goes a long way.
01/01/00
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01/01/00
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01/01/00
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01/01/00
Dark, nasty and thoroughly engrossing!
01/01/00
Bloody-handed but hip!
01/01/00
It is well written, contains a flock of colorful characters, and gives star Mel Gibson a number of great one-liners.
01/01/00
It may be bloody, sleazy and populated entirely by trashy people, but this picture is also subtly stylish, sensationally acted and - if you appreciate extremely bitter humor - pretty funny as well. Somehow, someday, somewhere, 'Payback' will get its due.
01/01/00
Demonstrates why Mel Gibson is a movie star: He can take mediocre material and through sheer willpower -- not to mention oodles of charm -- make it work.
11/06/02
Makes up for its faults with nearly non-stop action and some amusing tongue-in-cheek humor.
01/01/00
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01/01/00
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02/08/03
The strangest marriage of '30s noir and '90s hyper-action imaginable, and if the end result is a sort of cartoon, it's a fun cartoon to look at.
01/01/00
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