Appealingly silly for most of the way, and then stunningly, unfathomably absurd in its climax.
Comment
12/24/03
Paycheck (2003)
27
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:138
Fresh:37
Rotten:101
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Though Dick's short story has an intriguing premise, Woo reduces it to a lot of meaningless chases, shoot-outs, and explosions.
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $53,681,119
Synopsis: Adapted from a mind-bending sci-fi thriller by Philip K. Dick, the slick and riveting PAYCHECK is directed by John Woo (THE KILLER, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II)--the king of artful gunfighting... [More]
Starring: Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti
Director: John Woo
Reviews for Paycheck
121 - 140 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Operates at the level of a Game Boy shoot-'em-up: all action, bells and whistles, but no substance.
12/24/03
If you're looking for a fun alternative to the heavy-drama Oscar contenders and you like sci-fi action thrillers, Paycheck will fill the bill.
12/24/03
Sadly, the once glowing Hollywood promise of Ben Affleck and director John Woo has gradually given way to good paycheck hunting.
12/24/03
Woo's sci-fi thriller puts "MacGyver" into a Philip K. Dick short story, never taking itself too seriously.
12/24/03
The film elaborates greatly on Philip K. Dick's short story but has too many redundant action scenes.
12/24/03
At the end of John Woo's latest Hollywood misstep, Ben Affleck hefts two bags of manure on his back and stumbles around, effectively defusing anything cogent I could say.
12/24/03
An intelligent sci-fi thriller that's intriguing and exhilarating.
12/23/03
Is Affleck in it for the salvation of the world or Uma Thurman's booty?
12/23/03
These [plot holes] are so glaring that ten-year olds can play the 'I Spy a Mistake' game all through the film to keep them from getting hopelessly bored
12/23/03
Too smart for a mindless actioneer, and too slick to capture the full moral weight of Dick's dystopia.
12/23/03
Forget about seeing it.
12/23/03
Top CriticLimp retread of Minority Report.
12/23/03
Paycheck is bad enough that it may convince some movie-goers not to go to another film just because it was made by John Woo.
12/23/03
Paycheck's no breakthrough, but it's the tightest John Woo movie since his Hong Kong heyday.
12/23/03
Paycheck is the sort of noisy nonsense that Woo's earlier action movies made irrelevant, but alas not extinct.
12/23/03
Top CriticAt times, the whole thing feels like a parody of the genre. Still, director John Woo makes all this nonsense thoroughly entertaining, full of the slow-motion explosions, Mexican standoffs and the doves you've come to expect.
12/23/03
Nothing in the movie is a surprise.
12/23/03
The amazing thing about John Woo's steely, impersonal adaptation of Philip K. Dick sci-fi story ... is how it vanishes in front of our eyes even as we watch it.
12/23/03
without Woo's zest for kinetic energy, Paycheck would be just a few neat ideas stuffed inside a stiff, stifling adventure.
12/23/03
Latest News for Paycheck
August 31, 2006:
A Taste of What's "Next" for Nicolas Cage
Any time I hear the phrase "movie based on a Philip K. Dick story," I know I have to do a little more research. The next PKD adaptation is Lee Tamahori's... More...
August 08, 2006:
Paul Giamatti to Star as Philip K. Dick
He night not be as famous as H.G. Wells or Isaac Asimov, but ask a sci-fi enthusiast what they think of Philip K. Dick, and get ready for a lengthy conversation. The late and... More...
November 08, 2005:
Nic Cage & Julianne Moore Will Do Sci-Fi Action Flick "Next"
Variety reports that Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore will star in Revolution's "Next," which is a sci-fi action project based on a story by genre giant Philip K. Dick. More...
July 08, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Head on over to the film's official site for your first look at the trailer to "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." The supernatural horror flick is directed by Scott... More...
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