Payback Straight Up: The Director's Cut Review
Warner Bros - Official Website - Click here to buy Season 6!
March 30th, 2007

Payback's a bitch. Well, not always; if you're talking about the upcoming "Straight Up: Director's Cut" edition of the Mel Gibson smash hit, Payback, then it's sweet. Pretty much any other time though, it's still a bitch. As I just mentioned Paramount Pictures is about to bust out a brand new version of the film, Payback, as seen through the eyes of Director Brian Helgeland; hence the phrase "Director's Cut". I have seen the original film at least four or five times, and I can honestly say that the Straight Up version is not only a drastically different perspective, but also a phenomenal one. In fact, I'll even go as far to say that the new Director's Cut is better than the original Payback; put that into your mouth and chew it! Overall the feature presentation is damn impressive, and definitely should not be missed.



While I realize that this Paramount release is all about business, it would've been nice to include the original version of the film as well. Maybe they assumed most fans already owned the original, or maybe they're going to sell another collector's edition in the future featuring both versions; time will tell I guess. It'd be nice to have them both on one disc, but it's not that big of a deal. As far as the special features go, the "Straight Up: Director's Cut" edition of Payback is loaded to the gills with quality extras. You're looking at commentary direct from the writer/director Brian Helgeland (which I hope would be included considering this is a "Director's Cut"), a neat feature on how they built this new version of the film, along with other solid commentary features and some behind the scenes footage going on location at the sets in Chicago and Los Angeles. If you're a fan of the original Payback, this is a no-brainer purchase. At the very least, the "Straight Up" edition deserves a spot on your upcoming rentals list because the new version of the film is outstanding. Overall a top notch DVD release.


Rating:
(3/4)



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