Tagline: Remember the Future.
Jennings, an electrical engineer who has been working for the government for the past two years is trying to collect his paycheck. The problem is that the project he was working on is top secret and his employer has erased his memory concerning the project. Meanwhile, the government is trying to arrest him for a crime he apparently commited while he was working on the project that he can’t remember either.
Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is being hunted, but he doesn’t know why. A world- famous genius hired by high-tech corporations for specialized top-secret projects, Jennings routinely has his memory erased once a job is completed so as not to divulge any company secrets. Highly paid for his work, he expects to earn eight figures for his latest three-year project, but upon finishing the work, instead of a big paycheck, he is given an envelope full of random objects and told that he has agreed to forfeit all payment.
With his memory erased per his contract, Jennings has no defense, until he discovers that the objects are clues to his past. Now, with the help of Rachel (Uma Thurman), the woman he has worked with and loved for the last three years, Jennings is in a race against time to put the pieces of his past together… before his previous employers have him killed.
Paycheck is a sci-fi thriller film based on the short story of the same name by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. The film was directed by John Woo and stars Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart. Paul Giamatti, Michael C. Hall, Joe Morton and Colm Feore also appear.
The film features several of director Woo’s trademarks, including two Mexican standoffs, the appearance of a dove, and a hollow birdcage similar to the opening tea house scene of Hard Boiled.
Ben Affleck won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for his performance in Paycheck and two others – Gigli and Daredevil. After asking why he did not get his trophy, he was presented the Razzie live on Larry King Live a week later, and promptly broke it. The broken Razzie was sold on eBay for enough money to cover the hall rental for the following year’s ceremonies. While hosting Saturday Night Live, Ben Affleck joked that he would have walked out of the premiere and asked for his money back until he realized he was in the movie.
Paycheck (2003)
Directed by: John Woo
Starring: Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Michael C. Hall, Aaron Eckhart, Kathryn Morris, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Michelle Harrison, Michael C. Hall, Ivana Milicevic
Screenplay by: Dean Georgaris
Production Design by: William Sandell
Cinematography by: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Film Editing by: Christopher Rouse, Kevin Stitt
Costume Design by: Erica Edell Phillips
Set Decoration by: Elizabeth Wilcox
Music by: John Powell
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense action, violence, brief language.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: December 25, 2003
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