Paycheck (2003)

The joke is too easy. Why did Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart star in “Paycheck”? The money! (Crickets.) Based on a Philip K. Dick story, the plot follows Michael Jennings (Affleck), a square-jawed square who hires out his engineering skills to shady corporations. His job: Steal technology, reverse engineer it, and hand the results over. Upon payment, his memory is wiped. At a party, a mega-billionaire fiend (Eckhart) offers Michael a huge payday if he’ll give up three years to work on a secret project. Mike takes the job. He is told nothing will go wrong. Thurmon is the love interest who helps memory-wiped Michael after everything goes bad. John Woo directs with every cliché in his bag of tricks: Crossed guns, slow-mo birds and chase scenes that won’t quit. The three leads have zero spark, so maybe they did sign on for the cash. Only Paul Giamatti and Colm Feore have any presence. The plot is preposterous even for bad sci-fi. Ironically, “Paycheck” wipes from memory at film's end. C-