Payback (2021)

Not a bad thriller, and made well, small budget but still - entertaining.

Fmovies: I have to be honest: the first 30% running time got me hooked, but it turned out to be a complete bust. Completely unbelievable characters, completely unbelievable story, complete lack of motive for major life-changing decisions... In short: complete utter garbage.

Side note: I find it really funny when millennials think they can mimic the 80's and the 90's, Would it ever cross the mind of anyone who lived through the 80's that any woman would have the nerve to just leave her Russian mob husband? These numb nuts screenwriters probably don't even know that before Madonna was a pop hit, women didn't even felt they had the right to be their own person. I bet the idiots who write these screenplays think that an internet search is the gold standard of research.

This is newb/amateur writer, director and producer Joseph Mensch's first full length feature film, with only one prior short film to his credit. Sure, it was flawed, but for an amateur filmmaker, he did better than some seasoned filmmakers productions I've seen lately.

For a low budget B film, the score was surprisingly on point, and was not your typical constant, loud, overbearing and unfitting score. His directing was actually decent, but there were some scene fluidity issues. It's as if many parts where cut short with information the viewer needed. I'm not sure if the issues were bad editing, or screenplay related, or both. The story concept was great, but there were many plot, continuity and technical issues in his screenplay. Had Mensch consulted a seasoned screenwriter to edit his writing prior to production, his film wouldn't have had that missing scene fluidity and continuity issues. The pacing was on point for the film's 91 min runtime. Casting was decent, although many performances here and there felt flat, and I'm sure it was due to Mensch's lack of experience in directing his cast properly. Cinematography was excellent, especially with the use of 90's color filters and sets. It seems much detail went into staging that era, and seemed convincing I was watching a film made in the early 90's.

Overall, it was a great first effort for a newb filmmaker. With its flaws, I saw it to the end, and I enjoyed it. It's a well deserved 6/10 from me, and certainly not worthy of anything less than a 5/10, because new filmmakers have to start somewhere, right?

Payback fmovies. Sat down to watch this on a rainy night, and I was entertained throughout. The film has its flaws, but was very well written and kept me engaged. In a year without many films, this is certainly worth watching!

I had low expectations going in (based on the low user rating), but I was pleasantly surprised with the movie. For a low-budget indie film, it was cleverly written, well directed, and had a recognizable cast. The score was fantastic and really set the mood throughout.

Not sure who would rate this a 1, 2, or 3. This is a very solid film and I'll be recommending it to my family and friends!

Not bad for a Russian viewpoint We have seen so many Italian mob stories where we get into the private affairs of the leading parties so why not the Russians now. Leading man is set up goes to prison and finishes off all responsible while losing his wife Standard affair with some recognizable actors from other movie's especially the father from Taken 2 You know Marco from Tropoja. Enjoyable.