Payback - The Hybrid Cut

I watched this edit a while ago, so I’m a bit late on the review.

The black and white works great for this movie. It just fits with the neo-noir feel of the movie.

The voice over removal between the Theatrical Cut and Director’s Cut I’m…indifferent. On the one hand noir often has voice over. And like ssj said in his review, Gibson’s voice over is nowhere near as bad as Ford’s awful voice over in Blade Runner. So I guess I could take it or leave it. I certainly didn’t miss the voice over while watching.

The ending was the only thing I didn’t like. Before I downloaded this edit I asked Neglify which version I should buy. He told me Director’s and I of course inadvertently buy the Theatrical Cut. So I was used to the theatrical ending. And didn’t realize the Director’s cut was so different. So that’s just my personal opinion but I liked the theatrical ending better than the DC.

As far as editing goes. I noticed no problems with the audio or video. The special featurette on the editing of a specific scene was really cool. I wish more edits had this kind of feature. I guess it can potentially takes away some of the “magic” of an edit but its always interesting to see the work that goes into cutting particular scenes and the changes made etc. So props to Neg, cause there is some excellent editing work in that scene.

This edit was great fun. Neglify chose a movie that, to begin with, didn’t take itself too seriously, making the edit even more enjoyable. One of the most obvious changes is the lack of color. Given that the original version had washed-out colors, the move to grayscale didn’t subtract from the movie at all; in fact, it’s an improvement and fits the hard-boiled bill rather nicely.

The voice-over in the theatrical cut is notches better than, say, Harrison Ford’s languid narration in Blade Runner, but I agree with Neglify—it’s not necessary, and its absence in this edit is like the absence of a moustache: not a big deal and easy to get used to. Unless you’re a Lorax or something.

There were a few minor issues that really didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this hybrid cut, but I thought I’d mention them anyway. There were a few scenes in which mild audio/video dyssynchrony was noticeable. And the original red-lettered credits at the start of the movie seemed to have “bled through” the grayscale conversion and created a brownish tinge at the edges of the text.

I didn’t play the drinking game because that would drive me to shatter my manacles, rampage through the city, maybe overturn a streetcar, but I liked that it was there—obviously the work of a man who wants this fanedit to be Fun with a capital, what is it, an “F” or whatnot. For those who can manage to hold their firewater and are of legal drinking age, this movie is as good a reason as any to knock a few back.

Overall score: 9.5/10.