Review of Payback (1999) by Ben P — 02 Mar 2012
The Hunter, Donald E. Westlake's first Parker novel, gets a loose adaptation with this Mel Gibson vehicle. Parker becomes Porter, a criminal who gets betrayed by his old partner (Gregg Henry) and his junkie girlfriend (Deborah Kara Unger).
Broken and bleeding, it's up to Porter to patch himself together and get revenge on his former buddy and the crime syndicate he's pledged to. While Payback is nothing special, it manages to borrow enough quality from its source material to become passably watchable.
This is hardly the only film that channels Westlake, however, and one would be better served by watching one of the others.
This review of Payback (1999) was written by Ben P on 02 Mar 2012.
Payback has generally received positive reviews.
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