At first, he is unsure of whether to go through with the job, that is, until he spots beautiful scientist Rachel (Uma Thurman), the same girl who challenged him intellectually at a party earlier and spurned him. Michael loves a challenge, so he commits to the project, realizing that this time his memory will be erased by someone other than Shorty. Fast-forward three years and the job is done. When Michael goes to collect his $92 million dollar payoff, he is shocked to discover that he forfeited the earnings several weeks before. All he is left with is an envelope of his "personal effects" containing an assortment of odd items like a fortune from a Chinese cookie, a bullet, some ball bearings and a diamond ring. He sets out to sort out the truth and discover what happened to his dough, but before he can even try, he is shanghaied by FBI Agents Dodge (Joe Morton, Eureka) and Klein (Michael C. Hall, Dexter). They are convinced he is a traitor and is involved in the death of a government scientist and the subsequent theft of his top-secret plans. Before he realizes what is happening, all hell breaks loose in the room he is being held captive and it turns out that the items in the mysterious envelope seem to contain exactly what he needs to escape. It is soon thereafter that he realizes that he, himself, must have seen the future and gave himself the tools necessary to save his own life.
He soon teams up with Rachel, his love for the last three years, although he has no memory of this, and the two of them, along with a little help from Shorty, try to piece together the message Michael left for himself. Time is of the essence, however, because the FBI is hot on their trail, as are Rethrick's dogs, sent to eliminate Michael so the future-predicting technology will be Rethrick's alone.
Paycheck is just a great movie. It's thrilling, has lots of action and exciting stunts, a really great cast that works so well together and a nice dose of romance thrown in as well. If you've never seen it, the Blu-ray release is the way to go. The movie looks stellar and has greatly benefited from being remastered for high def. If you have any doubt, merely watch the deleted scenes, which are not high def and it's glaringly clear. Included are the same features on the DVD which are commentary by Director John Woo and Screenwriter Dean Georgaris, a making-of featurette, one on the stunts and a series of deleted/extended scenes. I really enjoyed the added scenes, especially the alternate ending.
If you already own Paycheck, you aren't getting a new slew of special features, but you are getting this great movie in its best possible form. I already had it on DVD and couldn't pass up the chance to have it on high def. If you've never seen the film, shame on you. Go check it out now.
