Movie Review: Paycheck

I find it fitting that my last post was about a Philip K. Dick novel and this next post (after a one week layoff) is about a movie based on a Philip K. Dick story.

Paycheck, starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman, tells the story of a reverse engineer (Affleck) who has his memory erased after each big job. We first see him copying a monitor that projects out towards the viewer. He is quickly offered a very big job for a very big sum of money ($92 million). When his memory is erased three years later he is told he forfeited his payment and he is given a new set of personal belongings. It is through these items that he tries to figure out what went on.

Compared to other Dick stories turned movies (granted I have only seen a few) this one has the same feel (I felt like I was watching Totall Recall at points) of a person who is unsure of what the truth is. Unfortunately we are given information as to what is really going on and who is behind everything. This lack of suspense truly hurts the movie and degrades the quality of the film. The acting is not that great either, but what can you expect with Ben Affleck? The movie also features Aaron Eckhart and Paul Giamatti.

The one thing that stands out is the premise. This movies shows the world as we know it but with a few minor adjustments here and there (the memory wiping for one and the computer monitors for another). It is fully believable (well, some of the science is questionable, but keep in mind that Dick died before I was even born - 1982 for those of you who don't know me well) and the human reactions are what are most interesting.

If you're a Sci-Fi fan (or just a fan of Philip K. Dick), then I would definitely recommend this movie. If you hate Sci-Fi and action chases then I would not recommend watching this movie - you're not missing anything important. I give this movie a 2.75/4: good for fans, but nothing special.