Comments on: Payback – The Director’s Cut (2007) http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/08/02/payback-%e2%80%93-the-director%e2%80%99s-cut-2007/ Film reviews and commentary tonight, before I forget tomorrow Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:14:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Joe Valdez http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/08/02/payback-%e2%80%93-the-director%e2%80%99s-cut-2007/comment-page-1/#comment-1261 Joe Valdez Wed, 08 Aug 2007 04:24:36 +0000 http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/08/02/payback-%e2%80%93-the-director%e2%80%99s-cut-2007/#comment-1261 Adam: I had a professor in college who loved <em>Point Blank</em> too. I didn't get it on VHS all those years ago, and I didn't get it on DVD when I watched it last week. Your comments about Gibson playing the part with more humanity, with an eye toward the audience, is on the money in regard to the theatrical version. Porter is a bigger bastard in the director's cut. Nowhere near as foul as Lee Marvin. I don't think that would be possible. Adam: I had a professor in college who loved Point Blank too. I didn’t get it on VHS all those years ago, and I didn’t get it on DVD when I watched it last week.

Your comments about Gibson playing the part with more humanity, with an eye toward the audience, is on the money in regard to the theatrical version. Porter is a bigger bastard in the director’s cut. Nowhere near as foul as Lee Marvin. I don’t think that would be possible.

]]> By: Adam Ross http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/08/02/payback-%e2%80%93-the-director%e2%80%99s-cut-2007/comment-page-1/#comment-1224 Adam Ross Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:48:48 +0000 http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/08/02/payback-%e2%80%93-the-director%e2%80%99s-cut-2007/#comment-1224 I'm a huge fan of "Point Blank," and I think what really makes that film work is that Porter never comes off as human, with barely any emotions and no real interaction with his environment. This helped explain why he was virtually invincible, but in "Payback" this aspect comes off as cartoon violence, at least to me. Because Gibson is never rattled by all the brutal beatings he takes, it robs the film of any real suspense. The suspense in "Point Blank" was finding out who, or what, Porter was. Still, I'm glad they made the Director's Cut, in light of how the studio originally handled it (didn't know much of the backstory, thanks for filling me in). I’m a huge fan of “Point Blank,” and I think what really makes that film work is that Porter never comes off as human, with barely any emotions and no real interaction with his environment. This helped explain why he was virtually invincible, but in “Payback” this aspect comes off as cartoon violence, at least to me.

Because Gibson is never rattled by all the brutal beatings he takes, it robs the film of any real suspense. The suspense in “Point Blank” was finding out who, or what, Porter was.

Still, I’m glad they made the Director’s Cut, in light of how the studio originally handled it (didn’t know much of the backstory, thanks for filling me in).

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