PAYCHECK

The central gimmick in PAYCHECK is bound to remind people of MEMENTO, which isn't really fair, as the Philip K. Dick short story that inspired this movie long predates Christopher Nolan's film noir thriller. The resemblance doesn't go much further, as director John Woo and screenwriter Dean Georgaris are ultimately much less interested in the psychological aspects of the problems faced by their hero (Ben Affleck) than they are in getting the clues to add up to cause for action.

Affleck plays Michael Jennings, a man with an unusual profession. Michael is regularly paid by old school chum/current corporate chieftain Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart) to steal industrial secrets and then submit to a mindwipe that erases all memory of the period involved. This makes it difficult for Michael to form lasting relationships he obviously doesn't remember anybody he meets during the blacked-out weeks or months but it all seems worthwhile. However, Michael at first balks when asked to take a job that will require him to have three years erased. The offer of a seven-figure paycheck persuades him, though. From Michael's (and our) point of view, the three years pass in an eyeblink, but when he goes to pick up his paycheck, he discovers that for some reason, he has declined his $92 million dollars and instead left himself an envelope full of seemingly unrelated items. Michael deduces that something went very wrong in his lost years, but what? The objects in the envelope are clues that he hopes will lead him to the truth and what he's supposed to do about it, if indeed it's possible for him to do anything.

It's a clever premise and the filmmakers have fun with it, though the puzzling out of the envelope's contents sometimes seems a little too brisk. Affleck is personable, Uma Thurman is luminous and injects a great deal of subtext into an underwritten role as his once and future love and Eckhart plays the baddie with a hearty sense of entitlement that makes him enjoyable to watch.

Woo plays his trademark visual grace notes (the Mexican standoff gun confrontations, the fluttering dove) while moving the proceedings along swiftly for maximum visceral excitement. What we don't get is much sense of what the time-outs have been doing to Michael; there are a few verbal nods to the concept of the impact of oblivion on a conscious identity, but there's no real exploration of this theme.

PAYCHECK is a popcorn movie with a cool storyline and snappy execution. It's a good time, even if it doesn't seem likely to prove especially memorable.