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Memory loss for profit seems the wave of the future in "Paycheck" based on a short story by prolific science fiction writer Philip K. Dick ("Minority Report", "Total Recall", "Imposter" and the author of the novel that inspired "Blade Runner"). If we're the sum of our memories and experience how does voluntarily giving up one's memory effect the person? Does it make them less of who they are/were? John Woo's action adventure science fiction film tells the story of computer engineer Michael Jennings (Affleck) who reverse engineers other people's work (i.e., figuring out how it works), improves it and sells those skills to the highest bidder. The catch is that he agrees to have his memory removed of these events so the company he works for won't fear he'll try and duplicate the same work for another competitor. In the dog-eat-dog world of tomorrow it's enough of an edge to make him quite wealthy even if he has severe gaps in his memory. After completing an assignment for a wealthy corporate CEO and former college roommate James Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart in a wonderfully oily performance). Evidently Rethrick has done the unthinkable; make it possible to erase as much of two to three years of a persons life. Rethrick asks Jennings to take on a secret project his company is working for. The compensation is in the high 8 figures. Jennings sensing that he can retire, takes the assignment despite the concern that he might have his brain fried in the process. ***

The next thing Jennings remembers is being told that he completed the project and can go home all the richer. When he goes to collect the stock dividends he thought would set him up for life, he discovers an envelope full of nick knacks that he insisted on as payment instead. As he emerges from the bank, he discovers that he's wanted by the FBI and, if that wasn't enough, someone is trying to kill him for something he has no memory of doing. ***

Luckily for us John Woo's film focuses much more on the action element of Philip K. Dick's original story as its ill-suited to answer any of those philosophical questions. Woo's latest film uses Dick's clever premise to propel Affleck through a series of stunts that truly are amazing. Woo's utilitarian visual style works well here grounding a fantastic story set in the future in a gritty, urban reality quite different from "Minority Report" and its fantastic visual effects and "Blade Runner" with its gloomy oppressive atmosphere. Affleck and Thurman have absolutely no chemistry on screen and on the other hand Affleck and Aaron Eckhart do. It's a pity they didn't make it a gay love story as the two are more convincing on screen than Thurman's weak attempt to play a coy clever scientist. While there are enough narrative holes to drive a compact car through, "Paycheck" has enough action to distract the audience from the inconsistent narrative. Like the best Hitchcock films, "Paycheck" requires the audience to suspend their sense of disbelief and check logic at the door. ---

"Paycheck" cashes in with a high definition transfer that looks great. The images look almost as natural as those you might see in a movie theater. The solid blacks and crisp, sharp reproduction of colors makes the film look great on both a small and big screen television. The picture, while generally quite good, occasionally looked soft with noticeable edge enhancement (where the picture is artificially tweaked to make the picture look sharper. Fine detail is sacrificed in the process and the film actually looks worse when inspected very closely). ***

Woo uses the 5.1 mix to the film's advantage surrounding the audience with all the action its seeing creating an environment full of action and motion. Unfortunately, the edition I received had noticeable distortion during some of the quieter passages of the film (and although these "quieter" passages are few and far between their frequent enough so it was a problem). This could be a problem with the pressing I had or possibly it occurred during the transfer from film to videotape. Either way, the distortion was quite annoying at times. This seems to have become more of a trend (and problem) as DVDs have become more popular and particularly with larger selling titles. I suggest that the studios and their manufacturers step up to the plate and fix the problem before it becomes as widespread as it was with VHS tapes. ---

Most of the dual layered disc is devoted to the film so the extras, while hardly minimal, aren't exactly plentiful. We get two featurettes focusing on the look of the film and the outrageous stunts that hold the narrative together like glue. "Designing the Future" focuses on the subtle look that Woo wanted for the film. He wanted the film to look as if it could happen in just a few years grounding it more in a sense of reality than say, Spielberg's "Minority Report" or Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner". He wanted to avoid the excess and clichés that have come to populate most of the current slate of science fiction/action adventure films. ***

"Tempting Fate" focuses on the elaborate and fascinating stunts that populate the film. We get to see behind the scenes and how digital effects were used to enhance what were already risky sequences to shoot to begin with. One gets a better appreciation of Woo's accomplishments with this film when its realized that many of these stunts could not have been performed 20 years ago without significant risk to the stunt people. ***

There's a third featurette available for viewers who purchase their copy at Best Buy or other stores that elect to pay for the extra disc. This 16 minute featurette focuses on the nuts and bolts of the film from conception to final execution. "Retrofitting 'Paycheck'" is more than a cut above the standard "making of" featurette although it does cover some of the same ground as the other two featurettes. ---