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The Girl in the Spider's Web
Film
FilmR1999
Payback
Directed by Brian Helgeland
With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be. From TMDB
93 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, TMDB reviews, Mastodon) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 3, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
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Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 14 | 5 | 69 |
| TMDB reviews * | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
What people are saying
A written summary appears once the title has a score.
At a glance
Payback is a 1999 action drama crime film, directed by Brian Helgeland, starring Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry and Maria Bello.
- 82 people have posted about this film on Bluesky, TMDB reviews, Mastodon
- posts span Sep 25, 2014 to Nov 3, 2026
Assembled from TMDB, Wikidata and Steam fields and our own counts, nothing written by a model. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
93 public posts have mentioned Payback so far, but it needs 10 opinionated reactions from checked sources before it gets a score. Seen it? Post your take.
The Experts
57%
avg of 3 sources
The People
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audience score
Reactions
60 of 93 · most liked first“Payback Squad” sounds like the name of a knock-off Quentin Tarantino movie.
neutral · AI labelView post →Point Blank and Payback would be a good comparison for film school on how to do an adaptation that vastly surpasses the source vs one that barely matches it
neutral · AI labelView post →Blood Simple Alien Blade Runner Superman II Payback now, the X-Files Movie
neutral · AI labelView post →Make a movie better by adding "in the ass" to it. PAYBACK IN THE ASS
neutral · AI labelView post →Not in a million years would I have guessed that IDIOCRACY would turn out to be the most memorable and relevant movie I’ve worked on. More than WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, ARMAGEDDON, I ROBOT, PAYBACK, DOCTOR DOOLITTLE, and STAR TREK: INSURRECTION. That’s just wild. deadline.com/2026/07/idio...
neutral · AI labelView post →Excellent points from @nondriver.bsky.social about the Graham Street Station, originally proposed in February 1999. Baby One More Time was the #1 song in America. Payback was the #1 movie. I was 19. (I'm now 46.) The proposal from Dave Somers would delay that even further.
neutral · AI labelView post →The theme song that opens the film combines Jim Croce's I Got a Name, James Brown's The Payback and 2pac's Untouchable (Swizz Beatz Remix). Tarantino brought in 2pac's old engineer, Claudio Cueni, to help mix the tracks. 32/59
neutral · AI labelView post →Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother reminded me of Payback, Hardcore, and Ghost Dog. You need to see this film. www.austinchronicle.com/screens/film...
neutral · AI labelView post →Tonight is BL and GL Movie Night! (I need rest, cuz I'm mowing tomorrow) I saved the finales of Payback and A Dog and a Plane for this♥️♥️♥️. I can't wait to watch them♥️♥️♥️. Also watching Leviticus. #BLSeries
neutral · AI labelView post →"Robin Hood heist" seems too meh But we should come up with a snappy name ... and hope and pray more novelists are interested in writing them and publishers are interested in publishing them (Dear Hollywood: Over here still drumming my fingers waiting for "The Payback" to be optioned for TV/film)
neutral · AI labelView post →Here's a snippet of our new song overlaid with a little film footage you may remember... And vote Payback & Associates at sandiegomusicawards.com for Best New Artist! Voting ends in a week and you can vote daily! WordAlso 5/6 ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 #WQuers #Wordle
neutral · AI labelView post →This was a year with Showgirls, Waterworld, Pauly Shore's Jury Duty, and the Jerky Boys movie. And he picked "Mr. Payback," an interactive film whose average runtime is 20-30 minutes
neutral · AI labelView post →It's BL and GL movie night!! Need my rest night for mowing tomorrow. There are so many series to pick from. Maybe I'll start with Payback or Ticket to Heaven. I'm definitely going to watch Wishing upon the Shooting Stars ep 3. Anyways, everyone have a great day/night♥️.
neutral · AI labelView post →#Horrorsky + #SciFiSky: The movie "I Love Boosters" is a stealth entry into your favorite genres. Trust and go in blind, come out dazzled. + #Booksky? This movie pairs well with the engaging heist book "The Payback" by @kashana.blacksky.app. Make it a Double Feature for your brain. #ILoveBoosters
neutral · AI labelView post →MadlinePaige.bsky.social The hotel Mr.Biggs walked into has the U.S. flag near the entrance. A Mel Gibson film named "Payback" had a scene where Gibson's enemy ranted about getting no help at the same hotel. President Trump did the scene word for word and posted it on Twitter in his First run.😊🎬🌟✨💫
neutral · AI labelView post →Since I got my retainer money back today, I decided to celebrate by watching Payback (1999), which is also a story about a cool guy who just wants his money back and nothing goes wrong for him. Watched the director's cut. Great fucking movie. Nice little piece of 90s neo noir.
positive · AI labelView post →Payback is a paycheck! Mara Corday "Cast in four films by Clint Eastwood, who had an uncredited role in a film in which she co-starred, #Tarantula (1955)." #BMovieManiacs
neutral · AI labelView post →During the 1990s he experienced a movie revival after appearing as a corrupt sheriff in John Sayles’s Lone Star (1996). This led to parts in a string of successful big-budget films including Payback (1999), Planet of the Apes (2001) and the Blade trilogy (1998, 2002 and 2004).
neutral · AI labelView post →My top five movie genres 1. Heart-shaped potatoes, Agnes Varda; 2. Zero plot & no one dies; 3. Sam Shepard or was that Chris Cooper; 4. Wait, who are they casting in The Payback?; 5. Kids ride around unsupervised on bikes.
neutral · AI labelView post →We went for breakfast... in Canada. We made a deal; if she'd stop hookin', I'd stop shooting people. Maybe we were aiming high. Despite Mel Gibson, Payback is an incredible movie.
positive · AI labelView post →📽️ EVERY NIGHT IS MOVIE NIGHT 🍿 (233/365) #NowShowing PAYBACK (1999) 🧡🤘 #FilmSky
neutral · AI labelView post →Five: I saw a ton of movies with the guy. He really dug the Mel Gibson film 'Payback'
neutral · AI labelView post →ripping a poster about a Payback film down off a movie theater building, the entire display popping into pieces as he wrenches it away from the screws that keep it attached to brick. . . . something about it returning to theaters after fifty years. he didn't fully read it. he just wanted ---
neutral · AI labelView post →If he starred in an action movie, it should be… VIC TAYBACK IS “VIC PAYBACK”
neutral · AI labelView post →As a longtime location manager, lover of great cities and part time flaneur I could write for days on this. Let's start with a curveball, a city that is "not" in a film. The Mel Gibson film Payback was shot in Chicago. It was intentionally set in an unnamed, unidentified city. They were unspecific
neutral · AI labelView post →Payback is a really strange movie. Everyone doing their worst acting thus making it feel like a Max Payne film.
negative · AI labelView post →I need Need for Speed Payback to be made into a movie, get the story polished up more and find the right people for the cast and it would be a great film to watch. Video is just a bonus. Rhinos in this game hit hard, but Mac hits Harder.
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm just gonna buy The Outfit and just keep my Parker movie collection at it and Point Blank. Payback is fine, but I'm never clamoring to revisit it.
neutral · AI labelView post →Just watched Payback (1999) the Director's Cut. Somehow it might be the only DC I'm aware of that is shorter than the theatrical cut. I'd also say it's not that good as compared to the original film. It has a few laudable qualities but it's also rather dramatically different.
negative · AI labelView post →Film Sack 637: Payback, is UP! After a successful heist, Porter is left for dead. Once he recovers, he seeks vengeance and wants his share of the money. How's it hold up! Come see! EPISODES, FEEDS, and SITE: filmsack.com
neutral · AI labelView post →just finished The Payback... @kashana.blacksky.app great book! I hope you have another one coming! I also hope to see this on a screen? movie/limited series? either way, great story
neutral · AI labelView post →I cannot wait til Payback Time. Id like to see a movie done about it - a version of a purge movie where republicans are run out of every town. IF THEY HAD NOT FUCKED WITH US I'D NOT BE LIKE THIS BUT THEY WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY TO FUCK US. That requires payback. They know it.
neutral · AI labelView post →I miss when they used to make medium budget movies for middle aged and old people. You’d then have to explain to your grandparents that just because the movie is called Payback doesn’t mean Mel Gibson’s character is named Payback.
neutral · AI labelView post →Black Caesar. The movie is not at all a favorite of mine. James Brown making a soundtrack that has nothing to do with the movie. The sequel to a movie he was originally going to do the soundtrack for, but they didn’t use the music, so that album became The Payback.
neutral · AI labelView post →Payback for getting blown off in that one iron man movie...
neutral · AI labelView post →Weird to see him in those films from the 80's and 90's. Now I sort of feel like I'm being conned in some way, which I guess I am since everyone in the film is acting, but somehow it's different with Gibson. Seeing the director's cut of Payback brought this into sharp focus for me.
neutral · AI labelView post →The first one with Lee Marvin. It's basically the movie, that Payback... Homages.
neutral · AI labelView post →I'd make the caveat that there's a difference between enjoying art made by bad people & actively supporting bad people. Braveheart used to be among my favorite films. Payback is an objectively great neo-noir. But I will *never* pay to see another Mel Gibson film after what I've learned about him.
positive · AI labelView post →I love a good revenge movie even if it's bad, but it's very gratifying to see filmmakers go out of their way to make a good one. Good job with Payback. It deserves to be remembered.
positive · AI labelView post →Watched Episode 7 "Sky's Comeback" #Payback #wetrakr
neutral · AI labelView post →All this time, I've been thinking that they mean Director Author as in a film / movie director. It just occurred to me that they might mean Director like someone in the C-Suite. Should I feel accomplished or embarrassed? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 #PayBack #PayBackTheSeries
neutral · AI labelView post →We also had an old Chesapeake friend called Porter. Named after Mel Gibson's character in the movie "Payback". He never gave up...
neutral · AI labelView post →Podcast #109. Another fun episode for me. I talked to Gregg Henry (Payback, Body Double, Guardians The Galaxy) about his new film ABOVE THE LINE. I've admired him for years, so it was great chatting with him. Listen below or wherever you get podcasts. www.moviesinfocus.com/podcast-epis...
neutral · AI labelView post →Thank you! From asian ones, Payback and an episode of My Royal Nemesis. Non Asian, Spider Noir, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder s2. Movie I have some horror for today: Faces of Death (2026).
neutral · AI labelView post →Loved the neo-noir vibe. My ★★★★ review of Payback on Letterboxd boxd.it/eoSw3x #filmsky
positive · AI labelView post →I have just finished viewing the 1995 film, Payback, directed by Anthony Hickox and featuring C. Thomas Howell, Joan Severance, Marshall Bell, Richard Burgi, John Toles-Bey, and R.G. Armstrong. #Films #Movies #AcademyAwards #RogerEbert #TIFF #Cannes
neutral · AI labelView post →Adapted from a Donald Westlake novel with the same character (different name) Lee Marvin played in Point Blank (1967) and Mel Gibson in Payback (1999). A few ofher films as well. Play Dirty, a recent Mark Wahlberg film, is really the only one that uses the character's name. Parker.
neutral · AI labelView post →@timo21 @Nonilex MAGA is likely to get a more violent and diabolical uprising than any projected by the popular hero movies that have helped to reinforce its abnormality! #PayBack
neutral · AI labelView post →Encouraging. When I graduate to writing non-smut, I won't have to abandon my roots :-) Didn't know about Westlake. I see he also wrote what became "Payback". That movie was one hell of a ride. I'll have to check out his novels.
positive · AI labelView post →Apparently, mine's some effing Mel Gibson thriller called Payback. That's probably a bad sign but I don't remember anything about this film and I don't really care to investigate lol 🤷♂️
negative · AI labelView post →The more you give dipshits like this a platform the more ridiculous they will get. Starve them of their publicity. Say what they did, not their name. Just say the jerk from the Payback or Ransom movie & everyone will know who you're talking about.
neutral · AI labelView post →It’s a great, great series. Have you seen the Mel Gibson movie Payback? It’s an adaptation of the first Parker book The Hunter.
neutral · AI labelView post →The movie John Wick taps in to the same thing for me that the movie Payback did. It’s not vengeance, it’s violation of principle and standard. The dumb fucking action parts of both movies are boring, but I get the driven by intent and purpose in both stories .
neutral · AI labelView post →ngl I was hoping for more ACTION MOVIE PAYBACK tm (im sorry) but Nic Cage was great in that role
neutral · AI labelView post →Reference - Jet Position: laurenpolizzi.com/art-directio... // (Note: Unlike the position chart here, Halo's pilot in the film was changed from Fritz to Omaha) - Maverick (00) & Rooster (410) - Hangman (105) - Payback/Fanboy (501)
neutral · AI labelView post →I was trying to find a used paperback version of Donald Westlake's Payback novel and thankfully found older versions that were published before the Mel Gibson film adaptation because pulling out a book with him holding a gun on the cover in public doesn't seem like the best idea
neutral · AI labelView post →I revised my Letterboxd essay for Payback (1999). I felt the original was lacking, but now that I've seen both versions of the movie and read The Hunter by Richard Stark I was able to really punch up the analysis and it's a vast improvement over what it was. letterboxd.com/masterbismut...
positive · AI labelView post →The (movie) Payback 1080p (iTunes)(US) $4.99 (Crime) (iMDB) 7.2 Cast: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Deborah Kara Unger, David Paymer, Bill Duke
neutral · AI labelView post →Listening to this now and quickly realizing that this is another adaptation of Richard Stark's "The Hunter". So with your love of "the movie then the remake" will you be doing Payback with Mel Gibson?
neutral · AI labelView post →Don't forget his movie roles like Payback😎
neutral · AI labelView post →
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