The John Woo sci-fi thriller based on the short story by the legendary Philip K. Dick was released in December 2003. The film stars Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart & Uma Thurman.

The film centers around Michael Jennings, a freelance reverse engineer, who took what seemed like a breezy idea to net him millions of dollars, but leaves him on the run for his life and piecing together why he’s being chased.

When I first saw this film I didn’t even know it was a Philip K. Dick short story. The movie came out almost 12 years ago but it didn’t seem so far off until I realized I didn’t remember why he’s being chased. I remembered some of the action scenes and the mystery solving so in my mind it looked more like an action than a sci-fi movie. The plot is basically centered around the action, the car chases, gunshots, and explosions – not at a Michael Bay level – but still a very action-centered movie. It could have been a spy thriller, and it made the characters look quite one-dimensional and a bit bland.

It’s funny how this futuristic sci-fi movie is a bit off. I mean the movie doesn’t really hold up today. It’s still a good science fiction – I meant action – story and I enjoyed watching it, maybe even more now that I recognize all of the supporting cast, but parts of the movie looked…fake I guess, or like it was made in the 80s instead of the 00s.

Paycheck was awesome when I saw it as a kid, it’s still a pleasant movie to watch but it’s definitely not a film for a nitpicking audience. So Paycheck have you seen it? What did you think of it now? Does it still holds up for you?

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