Uma Thurman's 2003 Sci-Fi Thriller Is One Of Hollywood's Worst Philip K. Dick Adaptations

This post contains spoilers for "Paycheck" and its source material.

Sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick has left behind a striking legacy. Over the course of 40 novels and 120 short stories, Dick blurred the lines between reality and what could've been, etching memorable characters plagued by doubt or delusion. In 1953, when Dick's career had just started taking off, he wrote a chunk of his oeuvre in a burst of inspiration — or just perhaps in an attempt to make a living.

"Paycheck" is one such entry. This 1953 novelette takes place in a dystopian society where workers get their memories wiped after fulfilling their contractual obligations. Jennings, our electronic engineer protagonist, realizes that his pre-memory wipe self has been looking out for him. An uncanny symbiosis forms between the past and the present, as Jennings must anticipate his own thought process to survive in a country suddenly controlled by an oppressive government. While this novelette isn't one Dick's best-known works, it is a fine piece of fiction that accomplishes a lot with a simple idea.

Unfortunately, the only attempt so far to adapt "Paycheck" for the screen is underwhelming. John Woo's 2003 "Paycheck" is a star-studded affair, with the likes of Uma Thurman, Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, and Paul Giamatti steering the solid premise toward its conclusion. While most of it is enjoyable enough, it doesn't do justice to its profound source material and lacks the exuberant gusto that most Woo films naturally embody from start to finish. That said, does "Paycheck" still hold up?

In Woo's "Paycheck," Jennings (Affleck) is supposed to be an everyman who gets his memory wiped often to protect sensitive client information. Jennings is contacted by former friend James Rethrick (Eckhart), the CEO of Allcom, who offers him a three-year stint at the company, followed by an obligatory memory wipe. Jennings meets biologist Rachel Porter (Thurman) at Allcom, and the two develop a relationship in the meantime. After Jennings undergoes the wipe, he discovers that his past self gave away the stocks intended as his payment and left him a seemingly random assortment of objects waiting to be claimed.

This puzzling tale is in keeping with the original, but Woo approaches it without the tangible paranoia that Dick envelops every reader in. The Dick-ian hyperreality is exchanged for a tech-savvy-ish future filled with unconvincing characters who are ready to give chase on motorbikes/choppers with great finesse. These action sequences aren't an issue — after all, it's John Woo, who can make even the most inert hand-to-hand combat look kinetic and exciting. That said, even these expectedly fun moments lack sincerity, as if Woo is holding back on his tendency to go all out. That's because ... he is. "Paycheck" is supposed to be subtle in the way its characters resist or rebel, with Jennings taking a more quiet, cerebral route to his hard-earned freedom.

Dick's impetus behind penning "Paycheck" was the realization that small, everyday objects — like the coins required to make a phone call or the keys to one's own home — can be the difference between life and death. This core idea is, unfortunately, completely nonexistent in Woo's vision.