Paycheck is one of a pair of Ben Affleck Blu-ray titles released by Paramount Home Entertainment on May 19th, 2009.
On paper this movie had a lot going for it, but it never really reached its potential when it was released in 2003.
First off the movie obviously featured Ben Affleck, who was a hot property at the time, though on the downside it was right after everyone had just become sick of him and Gigli had just bombed big time.
Another potential plus was that the movie was based on a story by Philip K. Dick, a science fiction writer whose work has been turned into movies like Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall and Minority Report.
As a writer he likes the themes of confusion with memories and realities and the manipulations of such things.
Paycheck is embraces this with the Michael Jennings character opting to have his memory erased at the end of his work – the ultimate Non-Disclosure Agreement!
I thought that the movie played out pretty well, and enjoyed the tension and the slow revelation of the unknown.
Lastly Paycheck was directed by renown director John Woo, the man behind Hard Boiled who moved into US movies with <
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em>Broken Arrow, Face/Off and M:I-2.
The movie was panned by critics – it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 27% and IMDb score of 6.1/10.
I can’t help buy feel that if the timing was different, it would have had a much better response.
Paycheck did ok in the cinema, reaching $53.8M at the US box office.
The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 32 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
You can check out the details page for Paycheck to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.
The main audio is lossless Dolby True HD with 5.1 channels – 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.
The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 41.2 GB used and is coded for All Regions.
On the supplements side, there are two audio commentaries – one from the director and one from the screen writer.
The selection of deleted and expanded scenes are interesting, some adding depth to the understanding of the story.
Along with the ‘behind the scenes’ featurette, we also get a featurette dedicated to the stunts in the movie, which are key in a John Woo movie.
Paycheck is a movie that I think was under appreciated due to the original timing of the movie release.
I am pleased to see it get another chance on this Blu-ray release from DreamWorks and Paramount Home Entertainment.
The retail price is $29.99, or order it right now at Amazon for $19.99, saving 33%!
Extras:
Commentary By Director John Woo
Commentary By Screenwriter Dean Georgaris
Paycheck: Designing The Future
Tempting Fate: The Stunts Of Paycheck
Extended/Deleted Scenes
Synopsis:
From director John Woo (M:I-2 and Face/Off) comes this futuristic thriller that combines spectacular action sequences with a spellbinding mystery that will keep you guessing from beginning to breathtaking end. Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is a brilliant computer engineer hired for top-secret projects. After each job, Jennings’ short-term memory is erased so he cannot recount any project information. Emerging from his latest assignment, a three-year contract with an eight-figure paycheck given to him by his longtime friend (Aaron Eckhart), Jennings is jolted when he is told that during the end of his assignment, he agreed to forfeit all payment. Jennings has no recourse-until he receives a mysterious envelope containing clues to his forgotten past. With the help of a beautiful scientist (Uma Thurman) he once loved but now cannot remember, Jennings races to solve the puzzle of his past…while a terrifying discovery waits in his future.
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