Don't let the naysayers keep you from giving Paycheck a look. I found it to be intelligent, inventive, action-packed fun. Ben Affleck does a very credible job playing a man that finds the secrets of new technology out for big paychecks and then has his memory erased. He is offered a huge amount to do just that but lose three years of his life in terms of what he remembers. Well, the film picks up quickly after the three years and Ben Affleck has been played foul by his employer or someone. The science fiction aspect is very involved but presented in a pretty comprehensible style. The film chronicles Affleck's collection of simple, every day items that have been sent to him by - himself - and each has a purpose he must soon discover. Director John Woo mixes lots of gritty, sometimes over-blown action sequences here and there(especially at the end),but they only enhanced the suspenseful nature of the film. The film works primarily because of its thoughtful, engaging script and the adequate acting of Affleck, Aaron Echhart, Colm Feore, sultry Uma Thurman, and always humorous Paul Giamatti. The profound(albeit somewhat lost in the action)lesson in the film's end resonated strongly for me and had me thinking about my future and OUR future here on planet Earth. If a film can do that, it can't be all that bad in my book. The film is based on the science fiction writing of Philip Dick, a great mind and perhaps a soothsayer to what lies ahead for all of us. A great theme for this film might be little things mean a lot OR thanks for the memories!

Paycheck is a modest futuristic action thriller by hard boiled Hong Kong director, John Woo.

Based on a story from Philip K Dick you just get a feeling that Total Recall (1990) did this a lot better even though Woo tips a hat to Hitchcock's North by Northwest here.

Ben Affleck plays Michael Jennings, a reverse engineer in the near future. He gets a big pay cheque for figuring out how rival's products work for the corporations who hire him. The only catch is that after the job his memory is wiped so no one else can extract the information from his head.

When an old friend of his (Aaron Eckhart) promises him a vast deal which means instant retirement for Jennings after the project he is tempted even though it will be three years of his life.

After three years have passed, Jennings thinking he has over ninety million dollars in a safe deposit box is shocked to discover an envelope containing twenty items some mundane. Suddenly he is on the run from the FBI who want him for corporate theft and the goons from the company that hired him.

Jennings needs to discover what he built during those three years, why would he trade so many millions for these items which all of a sudden become useful over a period of time. As if they were clues in unlocking a bigger puzzle.

The film hints at the invention of a doomsday device which Jennings recognises the danger of and feels the need to stop it. Despite the hi tech near future setting this suddenly becomes a man with lost memories on the run with some ability to have glimpsed into the future.

It lacks the bone crunching hard violence and humour of Total Recall or immersive story and dystopian style of Spielberg's Minority Report which also adapted from a Philip K Dick story.

What we get is a routine action thriller as if Woo is really in it for the paycheck himself.

John Woo's latest offering has been in the pipeline for some time. Yet, after viewing PAYCHECK, you realise that sadly he is a director going further and further away from his violent, hardboiled roots; since FACE/OFF, his last great work, his films have become more family-orientated and markedly less ferocious. PAYCHECK continues the slippery slide, offering a light plot, unwanted snatches of humour, and some very unimpressive stylised action. It's a film where it seems hard to recognise the director's trademarks and a poor script drags it down from the beginning.

I've never particularly liked Ben Affleck, although I enjoyed his performances in DAREDEVIL and CHANGING LANES. Sadly, here is one of his more ignoble appearances, in a puppet-like turn as the heroic, wooden lead. Saying that, Affleck is barely supported by an even more unworkable team – Uma Thurman seems deflated and left on the sidelines after her rip-roaring turn in KILL BILL whilst Aaron Eckhart goes gleefully over the top and loses all credibility as the comic-book villain of the piece. The only person who really shines is character actor Paul Giamatti, as Affleck's old adviser, and he is sadly relegated to about twenty minutes screen time. Eagle-eyed viewers may spot TERMINATOR 2's Miles Dyson, aka Joe Morton, in a role as a cop – surprisingly he seems to have barely changed appearance in the twelve years since that film.

The film's plot is extremely complex and involves memory erasing and evil conspiracies. It comes as no surprise that it's inspired by a Philip K. Dick short story, as was TOTAL RECALL – a similar movie to this, but with more imagination and far better action, on an epic scale. Sadly, the script is confused and things really fall apart towards the end of the film, in which explanation is left aside in favour of increasingly clichéd action and fights. That's a shame because early on in the film, where Affleck is on the run with only his envelope beside him, the concept works really well; the mystery is brimming over and as a result the viewer is hooked on the screen. It's just a shame that things end in such a shambles.

For the action to be sub-par is almost impossible, considering the pedigree of the director. Fight scenes are pleasingly violent (at least, as violent as they can be for a 12 certificate) but they lack any real impact, and the lack of interest in the characters doesn't help. Clichés rain down in the explosive finale, and often in the film you're reminded of other, better movies assimilated into this one. There's one motorbike chase which proves to be the "big" action sequence, but aside from one inventive moment (Thurman uses her helmet as a weapon) we've seen it all before. That's a real shame, and shame on you, Woo, for delivering a film so bare of thrills. Please try harder next time.