History Film / Payback

Six months ago, Porter was a happy man. He was a successful but low profile ConsummateProfessional thief who specialized in payroll jobs. He was married. Then he agreed to help out Val Resnick, a sadistic crook he'd worked with in the past, to steal some money from the Triads. The job goes perfectly, but it turns out that Val really needed all the money from the job, not half, and that Val used an old photo to trick Porter's wife into thinking Porter was having an affair with a prostitute, Rosie, who he used to drive for and who he left after they had sex once and he realized he was in love with her and couldn't continue being her driver. The result is that when they meet up after the job, Porter's wife shoots him several times, Val takes the money, and they leave Porter for dead.

* AdaptionExpansion: Rosie is a fairly minor character, just an old acquaintence of Porter/Parker. Here, she's PromotedToLoveInterest. Also, the subplots involving the dirty cops and the Tongs are created wholesale for the film.

Six months ago, Porter was a happy man. He was a successful but low profile ConsummateProfessional thief who specialized in payroll jobs. He was married. Then he agreed to help out Val Resnick, a sadistic crook he'd worked with in the past, to steal some money from the Triads. The job goes perfectly, but it turns out that Val really needed all the money from the job, not half, and that Val used an old photo to trick Porter's wife into thinking Porter was having an affair with a prostitute, Rosie, who he used to drive for and who he left after they had sex one time and he realized he was in love with her. The result is that when they meet up after the job, Porter's wife shoots him several times, Val takes the money, and they leave Porter for dead.

Six months ago, Porter was a happy man. He was a successful but low profile ConsummateProfessional thief who specialized in payroll jobs. He was married. He also had a relationship with Rosie, a HighClassCallGirl on the side. Then he agreed to help out Val Resnick, a sadistic crook he'd worked with in the past, to steal some money from the Triads. The job goes perfectly, but it turns out that Val really needed all the money from the job, not half, and that Val had told Porter's wife about Rosie. The result is that when they meet up after the job, Porter's wife shoots him several times, Val takes the money, and they leave Porter for dead.

* HumbleGoal: Everyone is surprised that Porter is only after $70,000. Most assume that he would at least want Val Resnick's share too. Others, like the [[CorruptCop dirty cops]], say that no one would go through this for such a low amount of money.

* BadAss: Porter.

** However, it also establishes him as a pragmatic dick, as he eventually parlays change taken from a homeless man into a steak dinner, a suit, and a pistol.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Leading to a third of the movie being reshot by a different (uncredited) director. Main focuses for changes were softening up Porter's character, changing the villain to Bronson and a more upbeat ending.

[[caption-width-right:291:[-No more Mr Nice Guy-] ]]

And just when it can't get any better, Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn show up.

* AntiHero: Porter is no white knight, he's a murderer and a thief out to steal back something he stole in the first place. He kills, mutilates, and brutalizes without mercy as a method to expedite his robbery. He just looks less tarnished than his sadistic, back-stabbing, racist, woman beating ex-partner.

'''''Payback''''' is a 1999 thriller starring Mel Gibson as Porter, a thief betrayed by his partner after a heist and determined to get revenge and more importantly, recover his $70,000 share of the takings.

The film is based on the same [[Literature/{{Parker}} source material]] as Lee Marvin's ''Film/PointBlank''.

* NeverTrustAtrailer: Not only did [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN69_DFySJA the trailer]] contain scenes that were cut in the theatrical version, but it also tried to inject a comedic tone and paint Porter as a BumblingHero[=/=]NoRespectGuy. Yeah... no. Even the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpV9eIXbVlU more accurate trailer]] tried to depict the movie as a BlackComedy.

The film is based on the same source material as Lee Marvin's ''Film/PointBlank''.

Instead of dying, Porter managed to crawl off to a BackAlleyDoctor and spent a few months recovering from his wounds. Now he's back, and it doesn't matter if he has to work his way through drug dealers, prostitutes, [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triads]], [[DirtyCop bent cops]], TheSyndicate and Creator/LucyLiu playing a dominatrix, he's going to get his money back. Oh, and Stegman.

* CombatSadomasochist: Val and Pearl both. That's his value to the Outfit, and her value to him.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: The booby-trapped phone]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Also, Rosie asks whether Porter can stand up to [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique being tortured]]. [[spoiler: He can, in a way]].
* {{Combat Sadomasochist}}: Pearl smiles and licks the blood when she gets hit in the face, and begins visibly ''panting'' in excitement when a handgun is pointed at her.

* FlawExploitation: Porter uses this repeatedly against his opponents. When scouting the Triads he notes that they aren't wearing seat belts, and gets them into a bone jarring car crash. He ditches his gun before going in to meet Carter, so that Carter's security will relax and pay no attention to the [[ImprovisedWeapon roll of quarters]] in his pocket. He kidnaps Bronson's son and uses that against him. Etc.

* PercussivePickpocket: Does this at the beginning, among other unscrupulous things.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Pearl? Bronson's son? Who cares? Porter got his money.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Porter's first act on returning to the city is to find his ex-wife, tell her she's going to get off drugs when he sees how messed up she is, and lie beside her in their bed while he has flashbacks that include them during better days. When he wakes up, he finds that she's died of an overdose.

Instead of dying, Porter managed to crawl off to a BackAlleyDoctor and spent a few months recovering from his wounds. Now he's back, and it doesn't matter if he has to work his way through drug dealers, prostitutes, [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triads]], [[DirtyCop bent cops]], TheSyndicate and Creator/LucyLiu playing a dominatrix, he's going to get his money back.

* FlawExploitation: Porter uses this repeatedly against his opponents. When scouting the Triads he notes that they aren't wearing seat belts, and gets them into a bone jarring car crash. He ditches his gun before going in to meet Carter, so that Carter's security will relax and not notice the brass knuckles he slips on afterwards. He kidnaps Bronson's son and uses that against him. Etc.

This film contains examples of:

''Payback'' is a 1999 thriller starring Mel Gibson as Porter, a thief betrayed by his partner after a heist and determined to get revenge and more importantly, recover his $70,000 share of the takings.

* AntiHero: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes Type IV/V]] Porter is no white knight, he's a murderer and a thief out to steal back something he stole in the first place. He kills, mutilates, and brutalizes without mercy as a method to expedite his robbery. He just looks less tarnished than his sadistic, back-stabbing, racist, woman beating ex-partner.

* BadAss - Porter.
* BatmanGambit - The climax of the film, in which Porter [[spoiler: fools Bronson and his men into going to the booby-trapped apartment]].
* BigBad - Bronson.

* BloodFromTheMouth - Porter does this at the end of the Director's Cut. [[spoiler:It's left ambiguous as to whether he survives]].
* BulletproofHumanShield: Porter briefly uses [[spoiler:Stegman]] as this, although instead of just standing there and letting his shield soak up bullets, Porter is immediately moving out of the way.
* CatchPhrase - Several people say that The Outfit will kill them if they give Porter any information. Porter's response is always the same: "What do you think I'm gonna do to you? Worry about me."

* ChekhovsGun - [[spoiler: The booby-trapped phone]].
* ChekhovsSkill: Also, Rosie asks whether Porter can stand up to [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique being tortured]]. [[spoiler:He can, in a way]].
* {{Combat Sadomasochist}} - Pearl smiles and licks the blood when she gets hit in the face, and begins visibly ''panting'' in excitement when a handgun is pointed at her.

* {{Determinator}} - Porter.
* DirtyCop - Two of them, refusing to believe that the stakes of Porter's job are as low as he claims, try to horn in on the operation and claim a cut of the money. [[spoiler: Porter swipes the badge of one and gets the other to put his fingerprints on a gun, then planted both on the body of a man killed with that gun. They get taken away by InternalAffairs.]]

* {{Frameup}} - Porter frames the [[CorruptCop Corrupt Cops]] for the murder of his double-crossing partner to get them off his back.

* GunsAkimbo - Porter vs. the Triad minivan. [[RevolversAreJustBetter With revolver in one of his hands]].

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold - Rosie. Pearl... not so much.
* HumbleGoal - Everyone is surprised that Porter is only after $70,000. Most assume that he would at least want Val Resnick's share too. Others, like the [[CorruptCop dirty cops]], say that no one would go through this for such a low amount of money.

* InsistentTerminology - Porter is frequently corrected that the Syndicate is now called the Outfit. Just as frequently, he has to correct them that he only wants $70,000.
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique - [[{{Squick}} With a hammer]].
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Porter is a ruthless all around cad, but in the theatrical version he does genuinely love Rosie and the closing narration makes clear that he's considering a new line of work. The director's cut is something of an aversion, and has some extra KickTheDog moments not in the theatrical, including [[spoiler:Porter beating the hell out of his wife]].

* OnlyOneName - {{Lampshaded}} when Carter asks Resnick for Porter's first name and Resnick has to think for a second before admitting he has no idea.

* ReCut - The Directors Cut removes the narration, cuts certain scenes and completely changes the ending of the film.

* TheStoic: Porter, of course. There are a couple of other cases too, most notably Carter, [[spoiler:who barely emotes even when Porter shoots him]].
* TheSyndicate - It's the Outfit baby, we don't say Syndicate anymore.
* VaporTrail - Porter dispatches Carter's men this way.
* WeNamedTheMonkeyJack - Rosie's dog is named Porter.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Porter mixes between planning things ahead and winging it when needed. And when a complication comes up, he finds new ways to deal with it. Best shown when [[spoiler:the Outfit's goons grab him after he reveals that he's kidnapped Bronson's son, negating Porter's plan. He comes up with a new one in the middle of being tortured and leads them into a trap.]]

* AntiHero: Porter is no white knight, he's a murderer and a thief out to steal back something he stole in the first place. He kills, mutilates, and brutalizes without mercy as a method to expedite his robbery. He just looks less tarnished than his sadistic, back-stabbing, racist, woman beating ex-partner.

Instead of dying, Porter managed to crawl off to a BackAlleyDoctor and spent a few months recovering from his wounds. Now he's back, and it doesn't matter if he has to work his way through drug dealers, prostitutes, [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triads]], [[DirtyCop bent cops]], TheSyndicate and LucyLiu playing a dominatrix, he's going to get his money back.