Payback starts from ground zero--Gibson arrives to the city penniless. He obtains money and guns as he contacts contacts. Then finally we get some fireworks out of this desultory flick.

Thanks to the modern day miracle of carpetbombing commercials which inundate us with the ads. And a nod to the marketing jerks who decide that every key action point should be featured in said ads--there are precious few surprises to this actioner.

On top of that, the movie suffers from a blue cast to the film stock which is so prevalent that it's difficult to believe it wasn't deliberate. Even tho the color is off just enough that it looks like someone was asleep at the switch when the film was processed. Whatever. Doesn't add much, just detracts enough.

Payback reminds me of that other Gibson flick, Ransom . Both movies never swallow you in. You never get engrossed to the movie so deeply that you forget it is a movie. They're actors spouting their par-for-the-course lines so they can collect paychecks. And that's about it.

Payback's screenwriter/director/whomever seem to have women issue problems. They get beaten with blows that would incapacitate a person after the first hit, but here they come back for more--regular Energizer Bunnies. The level of ultraviolence directed towards women would even make Alex from A Clockwork Orange take pause.

Lucy Liu, the supercaustic bitch* from Ally McBeal plays a dominatrix who takes as good as she dishes out. Even tho the hits she absorbs would give Mike Tyson stars if they were real.

Maria Bello, the blonde superlooker from last season's ER, goes from conscientious, hardworking doctor to conscientious, hardworking hooker. So so much for continuing up the role model ladder as one proceeds with a Hollywood career. Hopefully Ms. Bello is paying her dues and will get better roles--like those which Cameron Diaz can't fit in her schedule.

Movie takes its time to get to the fun stuff. An actioner should have a rhythm as it builds to a climax and this flick fails badly. We get an hour of setup, then finally the nonsurprise payoff for the last 45 minutes or so. The plot isn't bad, and there's even a couple of nice twists, but again I have to harp at the hey-let's-give-the-movie-away-in-the-ads marketing whizzes who took the punch out of Payback. The flick does suffer from the ol' suspension of disbelief snapper of having everything work out exactly right for the "hero". When Gibson is in a jam, blah-blah shows up exactly then to keep the movie from grinding to a halt. The last movie I saw which was this blatant is the X-files flick, Fight the Future .

Payback is a fairly competent flick. Not the worst, not the best, and at least there's a Gibson Factor to pull customers in. If you have nothing better to do some evening, this movie is not the worst way you could spend the time. (Wouldn't that be a stellar quote for an ad?)

* her character, not her, Mr. I'm-offended-at-every-off-color-remark Guy

Movie's suitability for:

• Action Jackson: 60%
• Joe Fratboy (date movie): 20%
• Cinephile (pretentious movie lover): 10%
• thriller lovers: 40%
• Mel Gibson fans: 70%
• all around movie-goer: 40%