An original idea presented in a fast paced and action loaded way. A thrilling and entertaining watch!

Inspired by a Philip K. Dick short story, Paycheck is an adrenaline packed sci-fi thriller. Starring Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, and Paul Giamatti, the film features an impressive cast (though Thurman’s performance is exceptionally poor). The plot follows a reverse engineer named Michael Jennings who finds himself on the run from federal agents after completing a job in which his memory was erased; but he left himself a series of clues (in the form of 20 random items) to kept himself alive and avoid capture. The writing is rather clever in how it spins the mystery as to how Jennings will use the innocuous items he sent himself to change his future. Think too hard and the whole seeing the future thing kind of falls apart, but on the surface it works. And, director John Woo delivers several intense chases and fight sequences that energize the film. There are some problems here and there, but overall Paycheck is a fun and entertaining adventure.

This adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story tries so hard to get things just right that it's almost embarrassing to watch it fall down a steep set of stairs in the second act. Ben Affleck is at his Gigli-esque worst, displaying a grand total of two emotions as the genius-level intellectual willing to wipe the memory of his work after every assignment in exchange for a few extra dollar signs. Affleck doesn't deserve the full blame for this film's failings, though, as even Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart can't perform any miracles with a script so overcooked. Stiff, senseless dialog, uncomfortably dated pop culture references and an inherently flawed plot may have doomed it before the first role was cast. John Woo brings the goods during a few meaty action scenes, but even those suffer due to a loose interpretation of physics, a series of facepalm-worthy resolutions and a star who's simply not believable as the action hero he's playing. The high-concept introductory chapter works very well, but once this film sheds the skin of Dick's imagination and tries to take a few steps on its own, it stumbles in a series of bad directions.

They should have looked into the future, saw how bad this would turn out and abandon production. Garbage. Will actually make you stupider if you watch it.

I thought I had seen Paycheck before, but when it started I realised I, at least, didn't remember it. Maybe that was for the best. I like John Woo...most of what he did before he took the Hollywood route was good. This one...well...isn't all that good. Paycheck has its moments, and the craftsmanship is not all that bad, but I found myself bored for the most part. The actors do their things well enough, but the doesn't have what it takes to build up enough tension...and everything falls flat at the end. This one could have been so much more, but it fails in the execution. Not really recommended unless you catch it on TV with nothing else worthwhile to look at...