Paycheck (2003)

Director:

John Woo

Writers (WGA):

Philip K. Dick (short story)
Dean Georgaris (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller | Action | Mystery

Tagline:

Remember the future.

Plot:

What seemed like a breezy idea for an engineer to net him millions of dollars, leaves him on the run for his life and piecing together why he's being chased.

Plot Keywords:

Engineer | Computer Engineer | FBI | Bird Cage | Sniper Rifle

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Ben Affleck	...	Jennings
Aaron Eckhart	...	Rethrick
Uma Thurman	...	Rachel
Paul Giamatti	...	Shorty
Colm Feore	...	Wolfe
Joe Morton	...	Agent Dodge
Michael C. Hall	...	Agent Klein
Peter Friedman	...	Attorney General Brown
Kathryn Morris	...	Rita Dunne
Ivana Milicevic	...	Maya-Rachel
Christopher Kennedy	...	Stevens
Fulvio Cecere	...	Agent Fuman
John Cassini	...	Agent Mitchell
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Jude - Guard
Michelle Harrison	...	Jane

Also Known As:

La paye (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense action violence and brief language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:14 | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Burrard SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The 20 items that Jennings sent to himself are: sunglasses, pack of cigarettes, bus pass, diamond ring, paperclip, fortune from a cookie, janitor's key, lighter, hairspray, matchbook, Allcom pass, BMW key, looking glass, stamp, ball bearings, allen wrench, half dollar, cross word puzzle, bullet, and a watch.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning of the motorcycle chase, a blue Dodge Neon can be seen forced off the road by a pursuing Lincoln. A moment later on a straight stretch of road, the same car has a close call with the same black Lincoln.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Holographic Woman: It's time to wake up... and get a life. We live in a 3-dimensional world. Until now, the world of computing has been a flat world, consisting of 2-dimensional imagery. Now, through the use of exclusive breakthrough technology, ARC has made it possible for you to get a life. A-Life, where we can work and play in a lifelike world of 3-dimensional reality. A-Life, the living monitor.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The DiCaprio Code (2006)

Soundtrack:

Conversations

Philip Dick Reduced to a "McGyver" Episode

"Paycheck" is yet another adaptation of a Philip Dick short story that tones down his political criticism and cynicism to make a sci fi adventure flick, this time pretty much as an expensive and clever "McGyver" episode. You can tell how this is expanded from a story where the hero had five items/clues and now he has 20.

Ben Affleck is a bland Ken Doll of a hero, though Uma Furman has almost as much spunk as she did in "Kill Bill, Volume 1."

As a John Woo movie, of course the chase scenes are the best part. But the fight scenes are simply perplexing -- uh, why does Affleck's work out consist of electronic samurai stick fighting such that when the poorly-aiming bad guys all come at him with guns Uma throws him a stick to pick them off?

While I did see the movie on a scratchy print with tinny sound, I don't think that explained the confusingly bad continuity in the hair and make-up such that I thought they had been time-traveling at some tropical vacation in between scenes.