Paycheck Blu-ray Review

Originally released in 2003, Paycheck is an action-suspense movie now available on Blu-ray as of May 19 from Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment. Directed by John Woo (Face/Off), this fillm is a futuristic thriller about a brilliant computer engineer named Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck), who is hired for top-secret projects. The end result is a paycheck and a memory erase.

In the beginning of the movie, Jennings takes on a three-year contract that offers a one million dollar payday, which could help push the working man into retirement. His longtime friend (Aaron Eckhardt) is in charge of the project, so Michael agrees, despite the commitment. After his work, he is shocked when he arrives at the bank to collect over $92 million from his stock ownership, only to be told that he foreited ownership four weeks prior.

He is left with only an envelope full of mysterious items that don’t match what he turned in at the start of the project. With the help of a beautiful scientist (Uma Thurman), he must work backwards and try to piece together his past, while trying to preserve his future. Michael is hunted by the police and others in a race against the clock, and his fate.

Paycheck is a clever and very well put together mystery that keeps you engaged from beginning to end. Michael must try to figure out how he ended up wtih 20 items in the envelope that he doesn’t recognize, and more importantly, he must learn when to use them at the opportune moment, to save his life. Despite a lack of fondness for Ben Affleck’s acting, he delivers a nice performance, as do Eckhardt and Thurman. Paul Giamatti and Colm Feore are also great in supporting roles. Paycheck is a good, entertaining thiller that will keep you thinking.

The Blu-ray release of Paycheck includes these special features:

• Commentary by Director John Woo
• Commentary by Screenwriter Dean Georgaris
• Paycheck: Designing the Future
• Tempting Fate: The Stunts of Paycheck
• Extended Deleted Scenes

• Actors: Ben Afflectk, Colm Feore, Aaron Eckhardt, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Morris, Joe Morton
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Paramount
• Blu-ray Release Date: May 19, 2009
• Run Time: 118 minutes

Blu-ray Review by Neil of Movie Room Reviews