Paycheck (2003)

Directed by John Woo. Starring Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, Peter Friedman, Michael C. Hall, Ivana Miličević, Kathryn Morris. [PG-13]

Tech-engineer-for-hire Affleck does shady work for companies for big payouts, the condition being that his memory of his employment tenure is erased after the completion of each assignment; after finishing his latest job working for CEO Eckhart, he finds himself targeted by goon squads and law enforcement, with only an envelope full of clues and tokens he must use to decipher the puzzle of his predicament and keep one step ahead of his pursuers. Intriguing premise, expanded and amended from a Philip K. Dick short story, loses its way rather quickly, devolving into a series of chases and fights where the headier elements are all but forgotten instead of given balance. Unusual for director Woo, even the sleek action scenes lack pizzazz—a motorcycle chase has a few inspired moments, but is ultimately overlong and all-too-far-fetched, while an incident in a subway tunnel is jaw-droppingly stupid. Aside from the typically reliable Giamatti, performances trend toward the pallid side. Woo’s “dove cameo” reeks of self-parody.

37/100