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Paycheck (film)
Encyclopedia
Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation
of the short story
of the same name
by science fiction
writer Philip K. Dick
. The film was directed by John Woo
and stars Ben Affleck
, Uma Thurman
and Aaron Eckhart
. Paul Giamatti
and Colm Feore
also appear.
; he analyzes his clients' competitors' technology and recreates it, often adding improvements beyond the original specifications. To protect his clients' intellectual property
and himself, Jennings undertakes a memory wipe to remove knowledge of his engineering with the aid of his friend Shorty.
Jennings is approached by his old college roommate, James Rethrick, the CEO of the successful technology company Allcom. Rethrick proposes a lengthy three-year reverse engineering job to Jennings, requiring him to live on Allcom's secured campus until its conclusion but rewarding him handsomely with company stock. Jennings agrees, and after arranging for his long-term absence, arrives at Allcom, turns in his personal possessions, and is given a brief tour of the facility where he meets and flirts with botanist Dr. Rachel Porter. He is injected with a long-term memory marker for the post-job memory wipe.
Jennings regains his memory three years later at the conclusion of the memory wipe, with Rethrick thanking him for a successful job. On returning home, Jennings finds that while the Allcom stock has become quite valuable, he had signed away his share near the end of his tenure. Furthermore, he finds that his personal possessions have been replaced with an envelope containing a random assortment of everyday items. He is soon captured by the FBI on charges related to the death of physicist
William Dekker. Jennings is able to escape custody, finding that the items in the envelope can be used at the right time to evade capture. After warning Shorty of his plight, he finds the items pointing him to a cafe meeting with Porter. Rethrick, who has been watching Jennings' movements, discovers a message to Porter of this meeting and sends a body double to take her place to try to recover the envelope. The real Porter shows up and helps Jennings to escape from both the FBI and Rethrick's men.
They take shelter at a local school, examining the remaining items in the envelope while Porter tries to convince Jennings of the relationship they shared during his tenure at Allcom. One of the stamps holds a microdot
that, on enlargement, reveals several pictures taken from a machine's display showing Allcom becoming financially successful with a device that can see the future, but ultimately leading to political strife and nuclear war. Jennings realizes he must have built this device using Dekker's knowledge, and on realizing the horrors that will come, prepared the envelope using the forecasts from the machine to allow his future self to return to Allcom and destroy the unit. Furthermore, as Rethrick shortly discovers, Jennings rigged the device to malfunction, preventing Rethrick from anticipating Jennings' actions.
Jennings and Porter return to Allcom and make their way to the machine room undetected, jamming the door behind them. Jennings determines the location of the defective circuit and removes it, subsequently rigging the machine to explode in a few minutes. Jennings uses the machine one last time, seeing a vision of himself being shot by an FBI agent in the catwalks above the machine. Soon, Rethrick's men storm the room, and after a brief firefight, Jennings and Porter escape to the catwalks. Rethrick is waiting there, holding them at gunpoint, the same tableau Jennings previously saw. When Jennings' watch, taken from the envelope, beeps, Jennings ducks in time to avoid the FBI agent's bullet which ends up killing Rethrick. The machine is destroyed, and Jennings and Porter escape from the FBI in the chaos. When the FBI agents arrive and investigate, they take sympathy and report Jennings killed in the destruction.
In the film's conclusion, Jennings, Porter, and Shorty have opened a greenhouse nursery. Jennings recalls a fortune cookie note from the envelope, and discovers one last act he had done with the machine, predicting the results of a multi-million dollar lottery and leaving the winning ticket in Porter's birdcage.
s, the appearance of a dove
, and a hollow birdcage similar to the opening tea house scene of Hard Boiled
.
Rotten Tomatoes
gives the film a score of 28% based on 152 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 10.
Metacritic
gives the film a score of 43% based on reviews from 34 critics.
Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club
gave the film a positive review, calling it a "smart thriller" and praising "Woo's wonderful sense of timing and rhythm."
Chris Barsanti of Film Threat
also praised Paycheck, calling it "one of the more competent and reassuring action movies to come out for quite some time."
Roger Ebert
gave the film two stars (out of four), saying that he "enjoyed the movie" but felt that it "exploits [Philip K. Dick's story] for its action and plot potential, but never really develops it."
K. J. Doughton of Film Threat
called the film "John Woo lite," and a "neutered variation on his earlier, superior works."
James Berardinelli
gave the film one and a half stars out of four, calling it "a bad film, complete with lackluster acting, brainless writing, and uninspired direction."
for his work in the movie, as well as in Gigli and Daredevil
. After asking why he did not get his trophy, he was presented the Razzie live on Larry King Live
a week later, which he promptly broke. The broken Razzie sold on eBay
for enough money to cover the hall rental for the following year's ceremonies. While hosting Saturday Night Live
, Ben Affleck joked that he would have walked out of the premiere and asked for his money back until he realized he was in the movie.
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
of the same name
Paycheck (short story)
"Paycheck" is a short story by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, written on July 31, 1952 and first published in the June, 1953 issue of Imagination...
by science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
. The film was directed by John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
and stars Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
, Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
and Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
. Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
and Colm Feore
Colm Feore
Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
also appear.
Plot
In the near future, Michael Jennings is a reverse engineerReverse engineering
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...
; he analyzes his clients' competitors' technology and recreates it, often adding improvements beyond the original specifications. To protect his clients' intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
and himself, Jennings undertakes a memory wipe to remove knowledge of his engineering with the aid of his friend Shorty.
Jennings is approached by his old college roommate, James Rethrick, the CEO of the successful technology company Allcom. Rethrick proposes a lengthy three-year reverse engineering job to Jennings, requiring him to live on Allcom's secured campus until its conclusion but rewarding him handsomely with company stock. Jennings agrees, and after arranging for his long-term absence, arrives at Allcom, turns in his personal possessions, and is given a brief tour of the facility where he meets and flirts with botanist Dr. Rachel Porter. He is injected with a long-term memory marker for the post-job memory wipe.
Jennings regains his memory three years later at the conclusion of the memory wipe, with Rethrick thanking him for a successful job. On returning home, Jennings finds that while the Allcom stock has become quite valuable, he had signed away his share near the end of his tenure. Furthermore, he finds that his personal possessions have been replaced with an envelope containing a random assortment of everyday items. He is soon captured by the FBI on charges related to the death of physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
William Dekker. Jennings is able to escape custody, finding that the items in the envelope can be used at the right time to evade capture. After warning Shorty of his plight, he finds the items pointing him to a cafe meeting with Porter. Rethrick, who has been watching Jennings' movements, discovers a message to Porter of this meeting and sends a body double to take her place to try to recover the envelope. The real Porter shows up and helps Jennings to escape from both the FBI and Rethrick's men.
They take shelter at a local school, examining the remaining items in the envelope while Porter tries to convince Jennings of the relationship they shared during his tenure at Allcom. One of the stamps holds a microdot
Microdot
A microdot is text or an image substantially reduced in size onto a 1mm disc to prevent detection by unintended recipients. Microdots are normally circular around one millimetre in diameter but can be made into different shapes and sizes and made from various materials such as polyester...
that, on enlargement, reveals several pictures taken from a machine's display showing Allcom becoming financially successful with a device that can see the future, but ultimately leading to political strife and nuclear war. Jennings realizes he must have built this device using Dekker's knowledge, and on realizing the horrors that will come, prepared the envelope using the forecasts from the machine to allow his future self to return to Allcom and destroy the unit. Furthermore, as Rethrick shortly discovers, Jennings rigged the device to malfunction, preventing Rethrick from anticipating Jennings' actions.
Jennings and Porter return to Allcom and make their way to the machine room undetected, jamming the door behind them. Jennings determines the location of the defective circuit and removes it, subsequently rigging the machine to explode in a few minutes. Jennings uses the machine one last time, seeing a vision of himself being shot by an FBI agent in the catwalks above the machine. Soon, Rethrick's men storm the room, and after a brief firefight, Jennings and Porter escape to the catwalks. Rethrick is waiting there, holding them at gunpoint, the same tableau Jennings previously saw. When Jennings' watch, taken from the envelope, beeps, Jennings ducks in time to avoid the FBI agent's bullet which ends up killing Rethrick. The machine is destroyed, and Jennings and Porter escape from the FBI in the chaos. When the FBI agents arrive and investigate, they take sympathy and report Jennings killed in the destruction.
In the film's conclusion, Jennings, Porter, and Shorty have opened a greenhouse nursery. Jennings recalls a fortune cookie note from the envelope, and discovers one last act he had done with the machine, predicting the results of a multi-million dollar lottery and leaving the winning ticket in Porter's birdcage.
Cast
- Ben AffleckBen AffleckBenjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
as Michael Jennings, reverse engineer - Aaron EckhartAaron EckhartAaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
as James Rethrick, billionaire CEO - Colm FeoreColm FeoreColm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
as John Wolfe, Rethrick's right-hand man - Uma ThurmanUma ThurmanUma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
as Doctor Rachel Porter, biologist and Jennings's lover - Paul GiamattiPaul GiamattiPaul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
as Shorty, Jennings's friend - Michael C. HallMichael C. HallMichael Carlyle Hall is an American actor whose television roles include David Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under and Dexter Morgan on the Showtime series Dexter. In 2009, Hall won a Golden Globe award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in Dexter.-Early life:Hall was born in...
as Special Agent Klein - Joe MortonJoe MortonJoseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...
as Special Agent Dodge - Peter FriedmanPeter FriedmanPeter Friedman is an American stage, film and television actor.Born in New York City, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University before making his Broadway debut in The Great God Brown in 1972...
as Attorney General Brown - Christopher Kennedy as Doctor Stevens
- Ivana MilicevicIvana Milicevic-Early life:Miličević was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina to a Croatian family, the daughter of Tonka, a homemaker, and Damir Miličević, a slaughterhouse worker and entrepreneur. She emigrated to the United States at the age of five and was raised in Michigan...
as Maya, the double for Rachel - Kathryn MorrisKathryn MorrisKathryn Morris is an American actress, best known for her lead role as Detective Lilly Rush in the CBS series Cold Case.-Career:...
as Rita Dunne, female executive - Krista AllenKrista AllenKrista Allen is an American actress. She is best known for her work in the television series Days of Our Lives, Baywatch Hawaii, and What About Brian; and in the Hollywood films Liar Liar, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Anger Management, and The Final Destination...
as Holographic Woman
Trademarks
The movie features several of director Woo's trademarks, including two Mexican standoffMexican standoff
A Mexican standoff is a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse; a confrontation that neither side can foreseeably win. The term is most often used in lieu of "stalemate" when the confrontational situation is exceptionally dangerous for all parties involved.In popular culture, the Mexican...
s, the appearance of a dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
, and a hollow birdcage similar to the opening tea house scene of Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea...
.
Critical response
Paycheck recived mixed to negative by critics.Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a score of 28% based on 152 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 10.
Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gives the film a score of 43% based on reviews from 34 critics.
Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave the film a positive review, calling it a "smart thriller" and praising "Woo's wonderful sense of timing and rhythm."
Chris Barsanti of Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
also praised Paycheck, calling it "one of the more competent and reassuring action movies to come out for quite some time."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film two stars (out of four), saying that he "enjoyed the movie" but felt that it "exploits [Philip K. Dick's story] for its action and plot potential, but never really develops it."
K. J. Doughton of Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
called the film "John Woo lite," and a "neutered variation on his earlier, superior works."
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
gave the film one and a half stars out of four, calling it "a bad film, complete with lackluster acting, brainless writing, and uninspired direction."
Awards
Ben Affleck won Worst Actor from the Golden Raspberry AwardsGolden Raspberry Awards
A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in movies. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day...
for his work in the movie, as well as in Gigli and Daredevil
Daredevil (film)
Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
. After asking why he did not get his trophy, he was presented the Razzie live on Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
a week later, which he promptly broke. The broken Razzie sold on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
for enough money to cover the hall rental for the following year's ceremonies. While hosting Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Ben Affleck joked that he would have walked out of the premiere and asked for his money back until he realized he was in the movie.