Mel Excels
A Better Brand of Bad Guy

When it comes to playing tough guys, Mel Gibson usually manages to remain a good guy, no matter how violent, psychotic, or barbaric his character. After all those years of playing a nice guy, he finally has a chance to play something different. In Payback, Mel is one of the bad guys, but make no mistake, he's still the hero.

Gibson plays a robber named Porter, who at the start of the story is having bullets surgically removed from his back (under less-than-sanitary conditions). It seems like an occupational hazard. Play for the bad guys long enough, and sooner or later you'll wind up regretting it. But, as Porter tells us, five months of laying around didn't exactly change his disposition. If anything, it made him angry.

Porter, now healed and fueled by thoughts of revenge, attempts to find his partner, Val (Gregg Henry), and retrieve the $70,000 stolen from him. There is no finesse, greasing of palms, or clever detective work. Porter is not a subtle man. Once he gets a lead, he follows it, heedless of the danger or the people (members of a syndicate known as "the Outfit") that he is confronting.

There is a desperation in every play Porter makes, as if he doesn't care if he lives or dies any more. His wife has overdosed on heroine. His former lover, Rosie (Maria Bello), is a hooker. Two crooked cops are watching every move he makes, determined to steal the money from him if he can find it. And, to make matters worse, Val has told the Japanese gangsters from whom they stole the money that Porter was behind the whole thing.

There is a dark, comedic side to Payback as well. First, it seems almost laughable that anyone would go through so much just for $70,000. As one of the Outfit's head honchos (James Coburn as Fairfax) says, "I have suits that cost more than that!" Second, the absurdity of his actions as he takes on the Outfit shows brass that even James Bond couldn't muster. Despite the wicked humor, there is more violence than laughs. People expecting Lethal Weapon will be disappointed.

Make no mistake, Payback is brutally violent. People are beaten, abused, shot, run over, blown up, and tortured. This isn't the normal, silly Hollywood violence, either. There is a darkness in each act, even when -- as in the bedroom antics of Val and his mistress Pearl (Lucy Liu) -- it is intended to be comical. The squeamish should think twice before seeing this one, but for fans of the action genre, this movie will hit the spot.

MY RATING: 6 out of 10.

RATED: R
RUN TIME: 102 min.