From the Vaults: Paycheck Blu Ray Review

Independent Engineering Contractor Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is one of the best at what he does. What Jennings does is to take a product, adapt the technology and then deliver a new, greatly improved, classified product. To ensure security for these companies projects, Jennings has his memory wiped clean by Shorty (Paul Giamatti) for the duration of the product at the end of his tenure. He then collects his check and leaves for the next project.

After completing one such project, Jennings is approached by college friend Rethrick (Aaron Eckhardt) about a quite lucrative longterm project that would pay off well enough for Jennings to retire. This time around the corporation personally perform the memory wipe, via injection. As soon as Jennings gets the memory marker placed in him, the movie jumps to 3 years later, as Jennings is finished with the work and leaving Rethrick’s office.

The next day Michael goes to check on his stock profits and gather his belongings that were secured before he accepted his job. Jennings is shocked to discover that something strange has happened and he has forfeited all of his stock options and left himself an envelope containing 20 items that appear to have no relevance to him. Moments later, the building is stormed by the FBI, who have identified Jennings as a possible threat to the country.

I liked the fast pace of the movie and thought the plot was pretty original and quite well executed by Director John Woo. Known for his action sequences, Woo does not shy away from them in Paycheck although he effectively spaces them out to create more of a science fiction drama than an all out action flick.

There are some really good supporting performances in Paycheck. Paul Giamatti is great as Shorty, Michael’s sidekick who assists him with the memory wipes. Ben Affleck’s love interest, Uma Thurman ,who, was fresh off of Kill Bill’s success, is quite good, as the romantic interest Rachel for Michael’s character who also puts herself in danger to help him. Terribly underutilized, Michael C. Hall shows up as an FBI agent pursuing Jennings, so there is even a bonus Dexter sighting! Ben Affleck himself, as engineer Michael Jennings turns in an adequate performance, although not quite up to his romantic comedy standards.

The video for Paycheck is delivered in widescreen with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and of course, in 1080p. Colors run a bit to the brighter side, painting the picture with a nice bright palette that gives it a slightly futuristic look. Blacks are nice and inky with no crush. Background detail is crisp and nicely rendered. Overall this is a really well done transfer that is a marked improvement over the standard dvd transfer.

The audio is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound track. Dialogue is generally defined and crisp, delivered from the front channels. The rear and side channels get more of a workout than expected, kicking in nicely for ambiance and various gunshots and crashes.

There are not one but two audio tracks to choose from on this release. The stronger of the two features director John Woo discussing his movie and giving insight to his style of direction. Screenwriter Dean Georgaris also steps behind the microphone to talk through the film, going into more depth about the story and character development. My favorite feature on this release is Tempting Fate: The Stunts of Paycheck. Stunt junkies will enjoy listening to various stuntmen including the supervisor as, along with the stars, they discuss the three biggest scenes in the movie. Overall it was an interesting piece. Paycheck: Designing the Future is a pretty average making of featurette that features several cast interview snippets as they discuss the background of the film and the challenges that went into making it. There is a collection of 6 deleted scenes that really didn’t add any value to the movie and are not worth checking out. That’s about it for this one, no new features, just the ones from the standard release, although the two featurettes are worth checking out.

Of the latest wave of Paramount Studio titles to be released to Blu Ray, Paycheck is definitely the one to pick up. By both aesthetic and content standards, it beats out the others, with The Machinist coming in second. I think Paycheck benefits from a better audio track and greater rewatchability. If you are a John Woo fan, this is the definitive version of Paycheck to add to your collection.

Recommended

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

Paycheck is available on Blu Ray now, courtesy of Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment.