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" I can safely say at this point that we are lost. "
— Heather Donahue, The Blair Witch Project

MRQE Top Critic

Pic of the week

Winsor McCay -- The Master Edition

A new DVD offers an opportunity to see films by a master of animation —Andrea Birgers (DVD review...)

Gertie the Dinosaur, born of Winsor McCay

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Payback

**1/2

Review by Marty Mapes

published February 18, 1999

I’m ambivalent about this Mel Gibson-as-antihero movie. On the one hand, Gibson’s character really has no redeeming values. He commits murder for revenge or to prove a point. He is someone I hope my neighbors don’t admire. On the other hand, he is also smart, and watching him outwit his opponents is often satisfying. This is one of the most entertaining action movies since last summer. The energy was great, and the 60s cop-funk soundtrack was the perfect complement. If you are morally stable and unsqueamish, give it a try.

Movie credits

Director

Movie facts

Year released

1999

Factoids

As producer, Gibson had parts of the film re-shot and re-edited to make his character not such a bad guy, even though that was the point of the picture. And he still came across as morally impoverished.

See Also

Out of Sight, Steven Soderbergh, 1998, a film that just had the same feel. The music, the moral ambiguity, and the anti-hero hero make these films flow together in my mind.