Paycheck: Critic Reviews

The amazing thing about John Woo's steely, impersonal adaptation of Philip K. Dick sci-fi story ... is how it vanishes in front of our eyes even as we watch it.

This smooth but bland thriller may be the best we could possibly expect from John Woo directing a Philip K. Dick adaptation, especially when Ben Affleck is added to the mix.

Inexpressibly ropey sci-fi thriller joylessly directed by John Woo and based, natch, on a Philip K Dick short story.

Though the premise is provocative enough, the execution feels like a host of other violent action-drenched movies.

If a movie is going to flout, or at least bend, the laws of the universe, it at least ought to obey its own internal rules.

[Woo] still has pretty much of a tin ear for American performances, so he lets Affleck doze through the starring role. The film feels as if it has no center.

We're left with the painful reality that Paycheck might get Alfred Hitchcock, but it certainly doesn't know Philip K. Dick.

The law of diminishing returns appears to have caught up with Hollywood's Philip K. Dick infatuation.

The second half of the film is one overlong action sequence linked to another.

Efficient and occasionally fun -- but never to the extent that you can overlook its shortcomings.

Ben Affleck is a handsome fellow. No argument there. What he isn't is a particularly compelling leading man.

There are countless fascinating possibilities involved in Philip K. Dick's story, and I'm kind of sad that the ones ranking highest in the minds of the filmmakers was the opportunity to have chase scenes and blow stuff up real good.

Nothing in the movie is a surprise.

Belongs with the likes of Impostor: a near-future tale of paranoia and suspense of disappointingly generic proportions.

Every scene screams, 'I'm only doing this for the money.'

Instead of a nifty thriller, Woo delivers typical bombast, making what should be an exciting film feel like 'Exhibit A' in the case against modern action films.

The blanks, and there are many, are filled with dunderheaded plotting and logic usually reserved only for James Bond movies.

Ranks with Impostor as among the least memorable of big-screen adaptations of the late S.F. author's canon.

Unlike Woo's Face/Off or Broken Arrow, there are no stunts, special effects or kinetic moments in Paycheck that really blow you away.

Affleck gives a sleek, economical performance as Jennings.

A bloated thriller that runs out of steam long before its final interminable chase.

With its bland central character, and collapsible contraption of a plot, Paycheck leaves little after-effect.

Paycheck is bad enough that it may convince some movie-goers not to go to another film just because it was made by John Woo.

Writer Dean Georgaris and director John Woo propel a viewer through shoot-outs, chases and suspense sequences that break enough new ground to feel fresh.

Limp retread of Minority Report.