I don't think that John Woo set out to really do a Phillip K. Dick movie. Instead he took the idea, reduced the sci fi component and made the movie into more of a mystery thriller with the fascinating idea of plain objects being used to effective use by the use foresight. I don't think that Ben Affleck was ever really supposed to replace or even portray the wit or humor of Cary Grant. As I simply allowed myself to focus on the plot, the other elements really didn't require me to have much depth. Ben Affleck really wasn't supposed to have the superhero, superspy moves or martial art ability. The found the relationship between Ben and Uma interesting and the dichotomy of the a mindwash a fascinating interplay of performing challenges that I felt both actors handled well. Again, this movie wasn't about great acting, it was about performing in a mystery, action thriller - much like Speed. I don't expect a lot of need for drawn out emotional performances, displays of nuanced expressive that could easily slow down the action, pacing, and divert attention to the actual interplay of plot continuity and the fusion of future and current events. The whole idea of a known future was well portrayed in one of the televison episodes of X-Files. This movie was simply a additional play on the same theme.

Ok, so it's a film that's not about great acting, that's not about develeoped characters, it's an adaptation of a Philip K Dick story but it's not what Woo set out to do ( )...so, what is it about then? It's about John Woo, who took an interesting story from one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time and turned it into his usual MI:2 nonsense. He tried to do a film with a clever story but his creation is ultimately a brainless affair, with pointless (if well done) action sequences, an empty script, one dimentionnal characters. Truth is, Paycheck should have been about something but in the end it's not about anything. Can you really compare it with Speed in terms of entertainment? I suggest you give Paycheck a miss and watch Memento instead. Paycheck should have been that kind of film where twist follows twist, where you have to actually concentrate, but it isn't. The fact that Woo used his old "two guys facing each other with a gun" yet again shows his lack of inspiration. ALL films should be about great acting, but this one, as you've said, was certainly not. Paycheck is a very average film that's ok for a friday night if there's nothing else on. Thats my opinion anyway. I fear we're getting further and further away from the thread...