8 of 8

Paycheck , director John Woo's adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick novel, is a sci-fi thriller set in the future. Affleck plays Michael Jennings, a consultant hired to develop cutting-edge technology for companies looking to outrun their competition. Typically, Jennings will work on a classified project and then have part of his memory erased so that his secret innovations cannot be stolen. But when his latest memory erasure leaves him in circumstances alarmingly different than those he had expected, he ends up on the run from villains and the FBI, trying to connect the dots and fill the blanks that will explain to him what happened during the last three "erased" years.

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) expresses displeasure with the result: "Despite an intriguing premise … the film never kicks into gear thanks to its miscast lead, uncharacteristically rote direction by Woo, and preposterous plot twists which test the suspension of disbelief generally accorded the genre."

Eddie Turner (Movieguide) Elements of the story suggest parable-like Christian meaning and the story has some interesting twists, but ultimately it is a typical action movie with plenty of fast-paced violence.

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) says, "Director John Woo is in full, high-octane mode here, probably hoping that amid all the gunplay, explosions, and stylishly filmed high speed chases, we'll overlook the many apparent flaws in the script."

Bob Smithouser (Plugged In) calls it "a stinker. Not just because of the profanity and violence, but because John Woo lacks the subtlety to make this man-on-the-run tale anything more than a loud, kinetic potboiler loaded with clichés and stock characters."

Read enough raves for Return of the King yet?

This week, Megan Basham (Razormouth) catches up with Peter Jackson's blockbuster conclusion to his Tolkien adaptation: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. She says, "The Christian worldview in the books is so strong, it weathers the vaguely 'spiritual' interpretations the actors and director try to pin on it tolerably well. Mercy is still the overwhelming virtue that saves all of Middle Earth. The most humble and unlikely of creatures still defeats the mighty." She posts excerpts from interviews with the stars here.

Josh Hurst (The Rebel Base) gathers superlatives in his review, calling it "simply the most spectacular, overwhelming film I've ever seen."

You'll also find transcripts from my experience at the Return of the King press junket at Looking Closer, featuring interviews with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and John Rhys-Davies.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

first page |  8 of 8

share this page

December (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47