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Movie
Poster for Paycheck

Paycheck

2003 · 119 min

A slick, fast-paced sci-fi thriller with clever puzzle-box twists, stylish action, and a race against time that keeps you guessing.

Directed by
John Woo
Genres
Action, Science fiction, Thriller
Tagline
The future depends on a past he was paid to forget.
Overview
Michael Jennings is a genius who's hired – and paid handsomely – by high-tech firms to work on highly sensitive projects, after which his short-term memory is erased so he's incapable of breaching security. But at the end of a three-year job, he's told he isn't getting a paycheck and instead receives a mysterious envelope. In it are clues he must piece together to find out why he wasn't paid – and why he's now in hot water.

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Directed by
John Woo
Genres
Action, Science fiction, Thriller
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 1 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • identity
  • memory
  • technology
  • conspiracy
  • fate
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
near-future
Audience
teen
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action7
Horror1
Humour3
Realism4
Romance4
Tension6
Darkness5
Complexity6
Emotional weight4

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Cast

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Details

Genres
action, science fiction, thriller
Directed by
John Woo
Written by
Dean Georgaris
Starring
Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, Michael C. Hall, Peter Friedman
Music
John Powell
Cinematography
Jeffrey L. Kimball
Runtime
119 min
Country
Canada, United States of America, Hong Kong
Languages
English

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