what movie am i watching?

On monday I went and saw Payback starring Mel Gibson and Maria Bello. The character Gibson plays, Parker, is trying to get his share of a heist he pulled with another thief. The problem I had with the movie was the violence. There is a lot of it. Also troubling to me was the idea that everyone in the movie was a crook, even the cops, and this didn't bother me at all.

Throughout the entire movie the lead character, Parker, kept bothering me. That name was familiar to me but I couldn't remember from where. So the next day I went to the Calendar section of the LA Times and check the ad for the movie Payback and there it was, the answer to the name Parker.

Parker is the anti-hero in a series of books by Richard Stark. And the movie Payback is adopted from the first of the Parker books, The Hunter. So what's the big deal? Well the book was also adopted for film back in the 60's and that movie starred Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson. The movie - Point Blank. One of the best movies ever. So you say. Yes, I say!

In Payback Parker kills a lot of people, many at point blank range. In Point Blank a lot of bad guys die but Parker doesn't kill any of them. He just never got the chance. Someone always did it for him or the bad guys kills themselves. Remember it was Point Blank that made the Magnum 44 the gun of choice for all hard types, good and bad.

So what's my point? Well Point Blank is a violent movie without the violence while Payback is violent for violence sake. Packer is a thief not a killer. In Payback Parker appears to be a very violent thief. While in Point Blank Parker is a pissed off thief trying to get the money due him. He is willing to use violence if necessary, but rarely gets to.

In Point Blank the suspense is weather Parker will get to the end of the money trail and be rewarded. In Payback who cares if he gets the money. We have all that violence to keep us occupied.

The Hunter has been re-released and is now titled The Payback and is available from Mysterious Press.

I wonder what Richard Stark thinks thinks of both adaptations of his book, The Hunter?

By the way Richard Stark is not the author's real name. Richard Stark in real life is Donald E. Westlake.

more Westlake on the big screen

Donald E. Westlake (aka Richard Stark) and his representatives recently closed a three-book movie deal with Warner Bros., who negotiated on behalf of Joel Silver Productions. Silver has produced an impressive array of thrillers and action pictures, from the "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon" series to "Predator" and "Demolition Man." He's been a fan of Stark for years, and feels that Stark-style noir is the wave of Hollywood's future. The three books under contract are Backflash, The Man with the Getaway Face, and Butcher's Moon.

ps: The Donald E. Westlake (aka Richard Stark) picture was stolen from here.