The early 2000s was a strange time for Ben Affleck; he was undoubtedly one of the most recognizable stars in the industry, and his track record of box office success made him the envy of many peers, but the quality of his projects left much to be desired.
John Woo’s Paycheck would be the straw that broke the camel’s back in 2003, leading to a self-imposed exile that wouldn’t see Affleck take top billing in another big budget studio blockbuster until Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice arrived 13 years later.
The loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s short story followed Pearl Harbor, The Sum of All Fears, and Daredevil in turning a tidy profit in spite of reviews that were middling at best, with Paycheck netting $117 million on a $60 million budget, even though Rotten Tomatoes currently has it sitting on a meh 27% score, with more forgiving audiences meriting it as a 45% flick.
Affleck’s reverse engineer makes his money unlocking the secrets of the products made by the competitors of the people who pay him, and he gets his memory wiped at the end of a job to ensure he doesn’t stab them in the pack. This time, though, he awakes to discover that forces on all sides are seeking to take him out, but he doesn’t have any idea why.
It’s a neat setup, but on top of ending the era of Affleck as an action hero, it also marked the final American production for legendary director Woo, at least until Silent Night hits theaters. The leading man even won a Razzie for his efforts, failed to turn up at the ceremony, and then smashed his trophy when it was presented to him on a talk show.
Despite all of that, Paycheck has somehow squirreled its way onto the Netflix Top 10 most-watched list in the United Kingdom per FlixPatrol, although we’re sure subscribers will regret it.