Because it is based on the same novel, "Payback" has been held up as the (gag) remake of "Point Blank". Anyone who has seen "The Limey", as I have, could definitely tell you different. Though the style of the film obviously comes from John Boorman's sometimes forgotten masterpiece, Soderbergh deserves credit for expanding on that style and giving it some touchs that make it even better.
"Point Blank" had a hopscotch method to it's storyline, randomly jumping around from past to present to future and back again at the drop of hat (suggesting that it's main character, Walker, was actually dead). Soderbergh goes further, giving a voice-over to some of the final words in the film, and running through several possible futures at the dinner party. All adrenline junkies should definitely stay away from this film on account of that fact; nothing about how things develop is straightforward or typical of the action genre. That said, it's everything that someone with an appreciation for a damn good film of any genre could want. Another interesting item of note is the fact that both films take place in L.A. and have leads with only a last name with a W (in this case, Wilson).
This is probably the best role that I've ever seen Terence Stamp play, a hard-edged ex-con with a vicious streak the size of Santa Monica Boulevard. He's not an especially likable bloke, but he gradually becomes someone you can sympathize with. Peter Fonda, to my mind, was a natural for the music producer, a shallow, vain sellout who has made a fortune out of other people's talent. He has everything that the market teachs us that we could want, yet you get the sense that for Fonda, it's a hollow victory, made even more hollow by Stamp's vendetta.
The film's greatest strength to me is that absolutely NOTHING winds up the way that the viewer thinks it should. That may be a bit offputting for some, but it truly helps make "The Limey" stand out from the rest of the all-too-predictable landscape of cinema. Watch it and see for yourself.
"Point Blank" had a hopscotch method to it's storyline, randomly jumping around from past to present to future and back again at the drop of hat (suggesting that it's main character, Walker, was actually dead). Soderbergh goes further, giving a voice-over to some of the final words in the film, and running through several possible futures at the dinner party. All adrenline junkies should definitely stay away from this film on account of that fact; nothing about how things develop is straightforward or typical of the action genre. That said, it's everything that someone with an appreciation for a damn good film of any genre could want. Another interesting item of note is the fact that both films take place in L.A. and have leads with only a last name with a W (in this case, Wilson).
This is probably the best role that I've ever seen Terence Stamp play, a hard-edged ex-con with a vicious streak the size of Santa Monica Boulevard. He's not an especially likable bloke, but he gradually becomes someone you can sympathize with. Peter Fonda, to my mind, was a natural for the music producer, a shallow, vain sellout who has made a fortune out of other people's talent. He has everything that the market teachs us that we could want, yet you get the sense that for Fonda, it's a hollow victory, made even more hollow by Stamp's vendetta.
The film's greatest strength to me is that absolutely NOTHING winds up the way that the viewer thinks it should. That may be a bit offputting for some, but it truly helps make "The Limey" stand out from the rest of the all-too-predictable landscape of cinema. Watch it and see for yourself.