I was skeptical about watching this movie, initial feedback on it's theatrical release was lukewarm at best. I found the movie interesting though. Perhaps it's poor box office performance was due to the fact that you are constantly thinking through the movie. I find that movies that require coherent thought instead of mindless tuning out often do poorly at the box office and well in DVD sales.
Paycheck could have picked a better film title. It was not about the Paycheck, and I found that although that being the driving force behind him focusing on the "clues" he left behind post memory alteration to be quite shallow in an otherwise deep plot. In the end, I suppose payment was inevitable, for this character didn't work for free even if he acted in noble fashion on his "I must save the world" mission.
Affleck performs well, and the ever ethereal lucidity of Uma Thurman drive this thriller to pleasant heights. The flat color tones of the set, wardrobe, and make up are reminiscent of The Matrix to me--down to a subway setting, and imagery of bullets.
One thing I cannot escape is the hidden wonderment of the FBI involvement in this flick. The hint of "preemptive" strikes against nations that the US viewed as future issues to National Security struck me as an obvious tweak on current international relations in present day times. Due to the possibility of archiving, let me solidify this thought into one word: Iraq. Were the FBI in cahoots with this outfit that created this Einsteinesque look into the future?
I think I enjoy the movie because it drives home a point that I have been firm about my whole life; if we knew the future, we would not be able to gladly attain it patiently. It would forever alter our natural course. Director Woo is to be commended for making a futuristic movie grounded firmly in the present. Rather than physically portal humans to the future, it merely uses the mind to reveal the hidden truth, it's Back to the Future in reverse.
Paycheck could have picked a better film title. It was not about the Paycheck, and I found that although that being the driving force behind him focusing on the "clues" he left behind post memory alteration to be quite shallow in an otherwise deep plot. In the end, I suppose payment was inevitable, for this character didn't work for free even if he acted in noble fashion on his "I must save the world" mission.
Affleck performs well, and the ever ethereal lucidity of Uma Thurman drive this thriller to pleasant heights. The flat color tones of the set, wardrobe, and make up are reminiscent of The Matrix to me--down to a subway setting, and imagery of bullets.
One thing I cannot escape is the hidden wonderment of the FBI involvement in this flick. The hint of "preemptive" strikes against nations that the US viewed as future issues to National Security struck me as an obvious tweak on current international relations in present day times. Due to the possibility of archiving, let me solidify this thought into one word: Iraq. Were the FBI in cahoots with this outfit that created this Einsteinesque look into the future?
I think I enjoy the movie because it drives home a point that I have been firm about my whole life; if we knew the future, we would not be able to gladly attain it patiently. It would forever alter our natural course. Director Woo is to be commended for making a futuristic movie grounded firmly in the present. Rather than physically portal humans to the future, it merely uses the mind to reveal the hidden truth, it's Back to the Future in reverse.