Paydirt Review: An Eclectic Cast of Characters Dig Up The Past

Release date: August 7, 2020
Running time: 86 minutes
Starring: Luke Goss, Val Kilmer, Mike Hatton

A parolee Damien, also known as the Brit (Goss), teams up with his old crew determined to find a buried bag of cash stolen five years ago from a DEA bust gone bad but a retired Sheriff’s (Kilmer) obsession to right past wrongs leads to a tense situation as the crew must not only work against old foes, but old allies as well.

This movie follows Damien and his crew, which are a varied group of interesting collection of individuals each with a different purpose. I did like how they were introduced, with a comic style splash across the screen to show their various nicknames: The Brit, the Babe, the Badass, the Brawn, and the Brains. It’s an eclectic, interesting crew that are fun in theory but sadly don’t get enough use. It is a really fun cast of characters and I wish this film had more utilized them. The main focus is on the Brit and thankfully, he is fun to watch. He is calm and collected, with just enough going for him that you like him and enough stacked against him that he is sympathetic. He is surprisingly personable and I very much liked when he was on screen. And Val Kilmer as the Sheriff is a funny addition. It is great to see him in this film, even if his scenes are some of the weaker of the film.

The story itself is pretty convoluted with not much explained throughout. Scenes jump around and characters take on tasks without really explaining what is going on. It all ends up with a big event that does provide for some excitement, but the journey itself feels like it could have been so much more. Thankfully, the ending of the film actually brings the movie up and explains a lot. It is one of those rare films where the good ending actually ends up elevating the overall movie. However, this movie is not perfect. For one, it uses decent, but very noticeable CG during the gunfights. Muzzle flashes, lighting, and simulated blood are all very noticeable and can be distracting if you focus on it. Also, there are some odd, over delivered lines and some quirky writing. There even appears to be a mistranslation of a place name. But overall, you’ll come for the characters and their interesting heist and won’t leave disappointed.

Paydirt assembles an entertaining cast of characters to dig up the past for one more score in this revenge heist movie. It is available in theaters, on Demand, and Digital August 7th.

Rent it.