Danny Taggart's Blogarama

A more-or-less daily dose of news, politics, techmology, and any random thoughts that pass through my head.

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Review: Paycheck

Movie: Paycheck (2003)
My Rating: Thumbs Down

I was expecting something in the vein of The Bourne Identity / The Butterfly Effect / Memento, but it ranks, at best, as a cheap imitation, fit for Saturday afternoon TV. The movie was just bad quality - the dialogue, the plot, the science, you name it - and it really did feel like I was watching an extended episode of The Outer Limits (but much worse). My gripes, among many others:

1. Why does Ben Affleck have to be a genius engineer AND a buff staff-wielding fighter? It's so nonsensical and gratuitous. He doesn't even use his fighting skills, except once at the end.

2. Shorty (Paul Giamatti) is a non-character. Ugly Uma likewise has but a thin veneer of personality. Come to think of it, all the characters, including Ben Affleck's, are completely undeveloped.

3. The inconsistencies due to seeing the future are especially bad. For example, why didn't Michael simply destroy the machine from the inside when he had access to it, instead of setting up an elaborate movie-like plot which could easily be disrupted (remember, the future CAN be changed)?

Don't waste your time on this junk.