"Paycheck" was average and that in itself was mucho surprising when taking into account the talent behind it. First off, it’s based on a Philip K. Dick short story, the same duder who gave us "Blade Runner", "Total Recall" and "Minority Report". Second of all, it’s directed by the maestro of action himself, John Woo, who treated us to such polished “bang-bang” classics as "The Killer", "Hardboiled", "Hard Target" (yeah, you heard me) and "Face/Off". So what happened here? Who put the sedative in everybody’s drinks?

On the upside, I will say this: I was never bored while viewing this easy lay. "Paycheck" kept me within its grasp by offering up a fly-by-your-pants pace, a kool premise and clever devices via the use of the “19 items” and the act of foreseeing the future. It also had me smiling when it tossed decent action sequences my way with the motorcycle jamboree definitely being the highlight in that department. Its last potent punch was that the fine acting on display often elevated the quality of the material to a higher level. The best example of that would have to be the flimsily written love story at play. The only reason it was even remotely touching or engaging was due to Uma Thurman’s spunky performance and her adequate chemistry with Ben Affleck.

On a “too bad” note, I felt that the side characters in the film were badly interpreted by the no-name actors in the fold. They weakened the whole of the affair. The screenplay behind this baby was also nothing to go nuts about, where it basically used its fly premise as a launching pad for an extended chase sequence. Nothing wrong with that, but taking into account the gnarly nature of the premise, I expected them to focus on it more instead of simply dabbling in it. We also had the action sequences themselves that came out fairly routine, especially when taking into account that John “style whore” Woo was behind them. I was still tap-dancing with them to some extent (I love action), but Woo’s flamboyant panache was mostly absent. If it wouldn’t be for his token “Mexican stand-off” and “flying dove” spiel surfacing at some points, I wouldn’t have thought that Woo had directed the film. Have you lost your Midas touch, bro?

Lastly, the bland setting didn’t help make this tale more engaging. It all looked a lot like Vancouver BC. Wait a minute, it was Vancouver BC!! Now I dig BC as place to visit, to go snowboarding and to get laid, but it needed a tad more dress-up to deliver in the sci-fi department. Just take "Total Recall" as an example. We had something there to complement the nature of the situation and to stimulate us visually. Here, it was all shot pretty straight-forward and the sets were nothing to pop wood over. It all just looked too damn “basic”! I can just imagine how much more effective this story would’ve been if it was set within a “Dark City" like setting and had some type of atmosphere to back it up. This is a sci-fi flick, mofos, not a car commercial! Give me something!

This flick was shot in Vancouver BC, Canada .

Screenwriter Dean Georgaris ("Tomb Raider 2") was behind the script for this film.

Brett Ratner and Kathryn Bigelow were considered to direct this film before John Woo locked the deal.