Payback: Straight Up

What I was hoping for in the director's cut of Payback is extended roles for Maria & Lucy. Lucy is absolutely hilarious in this film, with some great lines ("I need some satisfaction"), and her interaction with Porter ("I have a few minutes", "Go boil an egg") was just magnificent. There is some extension to the scene where Rosie & Porter meet up again, and she gets more of a part in the finale of the film. But Lucy definitely needed more of a role! Having watched both versions of Payback within the same day, I was shocked at how different they are. The original version of Payback is a lot darker, almost black & white in some parts, but this version keeps the colour. The beginning loses the opening of a doctor digging bullets out of Porter's back, and starts with him returning to the city, with no indication of a double-cross just yet until the flashback appears. It also appears to be cut together much better, and give the first few scenes a much quicker feeling. Porter no longer has a voice-over either. The scene with his wife is extended as well, leading to a more brutal confrontation, which leads more into him carrying her into the bedroom. Also, Porter the dog doesn't survive in this version. Big awww. The torture scenes are also cut from the film, and the boss's son who was originally going to get together with Rosie as his birthday present.

The finale is a load better, as in the old version, I did find myself getting bored, but the finale is more abrupt, and unexpected. Maria Bello gets a bigger role in the finale, although it does leave viewers hanging a bit, but I won't spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it yet.

The only thing I'm gutted at is the low-class hooker, who Porter approaches when he's looking for Rosie, is completely cut from the film. Which is a shame, as she totally reminded me of the hooker from Pretty Woman that was Julia Robert's roommate. She's funny as well, despite the shortness of her scene.

Overall, I have to say I prefer the director's cut of Payback. Sometimes you find with some directors cuts, they tend to go a bit OTT, and keep in all the scenes which really weren't necessary, but this is well edited, and changing the finale was a really good idea. And seeing it in HD is well worth while too, if you can get your hands on it. I do like the idea of having it almost black & white, and I did miss it in this version. But it's well worth seeing if you want a different take on the film.

What made the 1999 cut of the movie so great was its entertainment value. It was an incredibly fun movie to watch, with a cool fun style and soundtrack and some nice twists and turns to its story. All of that is basically gone in this version and its a much darker and serious one.

After production finished the Brian Helgeland was deemed too dark and not suitable for the mainstream public. A re-write got done and scene's got re-shot by a different director for the original theatrical release. 90% of the times that a studio decides to do this and changes a movie entire, it isn't for the best. Director's cuts are therefor often way better than the original released versions. However this time I have to say I agree with the studio. This version is a much poorer written and constructed one that lacks whit, charm and whatever more. The 1999 "Payback" was an original and fun movie to watch, "Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut" however is just one typical revenge flick that just isn't among the best the genre has to offer.

You could say that this movie is more of a thriller, while the original, even though it was more entertaining, was done much more film-noir style, that was also a more violent one as well.

What is surprisingly different as well in this movie are its characters. It's amazing what some editing, a visual- and musical style and different scene additions can do to a character. The main character is much darker and seems basically depressed all of the time. It just makes Mel Gibson less great to watch in this version. Also most of the other characters don't work out halve as effective. The whole Maria Bello story-line and character in particular don't work out at all and seem totally out of place.

The movie is just overall also often too slow and dull to watch. Some sequences drag on for too long and not everything in the flows well.

The movie story-wise actually isn't that much different from the original release, until its final 30 minutes or something. The movie its ending is a totally different one. I must say that the ending of this movie is just a much weaker one that besides comes far too sudden and isn't really very satisfying.

Lacks all of the whit, charm, originality and entertainment of the original version. As a director's cut this movie is nothing but a disappointment. Just watch the 1999 "Payback" instead.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Director's Cut could mean any number of things...studio interference, re- shoots, poor test screenings. Most of the time that just means a couple more minutes added but sometimes there are drastic differences from the original released. This is one of those big changes. I liked this movie with it's sharp writing and nice mix of violence with dark humor. 'Like' has become 'love'. If you've never seen it and your a big film buff I'd say watch both versions to see the difference. If you've never seen it, Straight Up is hands down the way to go.

I have to agree with the previous poster's comments. I do miss Mel's voice over a bit and especially the opening score. Overall this version is better, but just edges out the original. It is really cool to see a movie which was good to begin with, but with a twist and still good. I found Maria Bello's performance towards the end especially powerful. I'm still on the fence about the very end.

A lot of good extras on the DVD, the director's narration in particular. You have to feel for Brian; it never ceases to amaze me some of the BS the directors have to coupe with from the studio executives. For the most part, the successful films have been ones which are new and original, where the studio exec's always seem take the exact opposite stance.

This delayed director's cut made drastic changes, warranting its own listing on IMDb, that positively effected the quality of this revenge thriller. 'Payback: Straight Up (2006)' pits a relatively unsympathetic anti-hero protagonist against an arguably even more unsympathetic bad-guy and just lets him off the leash. The film isn't perfect, though its better in this form than in the washed-out and narration-heavy studio-mandated theatrical cut, but some brutal action, a callous disregard for likeability and an engaging plot mean that this is an entertainingly, and refreshingly, downbeat affair. 7/10