Paycheck

2003 film directed by John Woo

Film · TMDB

6.2

Michael Jennings is a genius who's hired – and paid handsomely – by high-tech firms to work on highly sensitive projects, after which his short-term memory is erased so he's incapable of breaching security. But at the end of a three-year job, he's told he isn't getting a paycheck and instead receives a mysterious envelope. In it are clues he must piece together to find out why he wasn't paid – and why he's now in hot water.

Released: 2003-12-25119 minDir: John WooAction, Adventure, Mystery, Science Fiction, ThrillerBudget: $60.0MBox office: $117M

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Cast

Ben Affleck as Michael Jennings
Aaron Eckhart as James Rethrick
Uma Thurman as Rachel Porter
Paul Giamatti as Shorty
Colm Feore as John Wolfe
Joe Morton

~9 min read

Article

Paycheck is a 2003 American science fiction action film directed and produced by John Woo. The film was written by Dean Georgaris, and based on the 1953 short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick. Starring Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, and Uma Thurman, with Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, and Michael C. Hall in supporting roles, the film follows a reverse engineer who finds himself hunted by both the FBI and a billionaire CEO after his memory is erased.

Paycheck was released on December 25, 2003, by Paramount Pictures in North America and DreamWorks Pictures internationally to negative reviews from critics and grossed $117.2 million against a $60 million budget. After this film, Woo did not direct another American feature film until 2023's Silent Night.