Payback is a 1999 thriller starring Mel Gibson as Porter, a thief who is double crossed and left for dead by both his wife and his partner in crime. After surviving the incident, Porter decides to go after them and get the money he's owed. The film is an adaptation of Richard Stark's novel The Hunter, and the novel's main character was also adapted into the 1967 Lee Marvin film Point Blank, the 1997 Chow Yun-Fat film Full Contact as well as the 2013 Jason Statham film Parker.
Unsatisfied with the original tone of the film as well as the ending, Gibson decided to reshoot several sequences and add several characters to the film before its release in 1999. In 2006, Brian Helgeland, the original writer/director of the film, was allowed to go back and restore his original vision for the film. It was released on DVD as "Payback Straight Up: The Director's Cut". Most of the screencaps for this page are from the Director's Cut.
Porter (Mel Gibson) uses a blued Smith & Wesson Model 29 4" with S&W factory combat grips for the majority of the film after buying it in a pawn shop. The weapon here can be identified as an actual large-caliber .44 Magnum N-frame Model 29 due to the heavy non-tapered 'bull' barrel and full-length cylinder (The cylinder fills the entire gap). A different .357 Magnum N-frame S&W revolver was also used in some parts, noted in the Model 28 section below, but the Model 29 was also definitely used. See the Discussion page for comparisons and additional information.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingSmith & Wesson Model 29 with 4" barrel.Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe pawn shop owner hands Porter a Smith & Wesson Model 29 from off the rack. His lack of gun safety is pretty obvious as he hands him the gun with the hammer cocked and his finger on the trigger.Error creating thumbnail: File missingLeft: Porter swings open the cylinder and spins it. A ratcheting sound effect is heard even though there is nothing for the cylinder to ratchet against. Right: Porter examines the barrel. Note the smooth topstrap and bull barrel. Both consistent with a Model 29.Error creating thumbnail: File missingAfter doing some flashy twirling, Porter hands the shop owner the Model 29 back to make a purchase. Without a background check it is doubtful he would have actually made the purchase. For some reason he isn't shown buying cartridges either...Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter searches his wife's house with his Model 29 at the ready.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA Model 29 with regular grips is seen in Detective Hicks' (Bill Duke) holster.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter holds his Smith on Val in the hotel room.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter shoots Val in Rosie's (Maria Bello) house.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter uses a pillow to muffle the gunshot as he executes Val. This is movie fiction, as a pillow would not properly suppress a handgun, especially a revolver. It is also pointless since three rounds are fired before this. It is possible, however, that he could have simply used the pillow to deflect the bloodspray caused by a close-range headshot.Error creating thumbnail: File missingArthur Stegman (David Paymer) holds a Model 29 on Porter in the back of a Taxi cab before he takes it from him.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter fires the two guns through the floor of the Triad van. You can see he is simply dry-firing the gun as no muzzle flash is seen, likely a safety precaution for firing blanks at such close proximity.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter rolls out from under the van and shoots the Triad driver.Error creating thumbnail: File missingInternal Affairs officers show off Porter's original Model 29 to Det. Hicks (Bill Duke) and Det. Leary (Jack Conley) after Porter left the gun (covered with their fingerprints) at the scene of Val's murder, along with one of their badges.
Smith & Wesson Model 28
Though Porter does purchase and use the above Model 29, the Smith & Wesson Model 28 is seen standing in for it in some places, sometimes being switched in the same scenes. It can be differentiated from the Model 29 due to it's tapered barrel and (if examined closely) shorter .357 cylinder in some shots. The gun can be identified specifically as a Model 28 'Highway Patrolman' rather than the almost identical, but much finer Model 27 due to it's slightly duller finish and smooth, non-checkered topstrap.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingSmith & Wesson Model 28 'Highway Patrolman' with 4" barrel and Rubber Combat Grips - .357 Magnum.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter holds his Model 28 on the Detectives before handing it to them outside the "Outfit's" building. The smaller-diameter .357 barrel is quite clear in this shot.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter fires what is now the S&W Model 28 in an akimbo stance along with a Beretta 92FS at the Triads, unloading about 13 rounds from his six shot revolver.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA close up of the guns firing, with excellent shots of both the gun's markings and the distinctive tapered barrel.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPorter holds the Model 28 on Pearl (Lucy Liu). A close inspection here will note the tapered barrel, the slight cylinder gap, and the smooth topstrap.Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe gun clicks empty. That's the inconvenience of movie guns, they can fire off a ridiculous amount of ammunition but never have a bullet left when you really need it. The smooth, non-checkered topstrap (Similar to the aforementioned Model 29) is also more clearly visible in this shot.
Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) carries a Beretta 92FS pistol as his main sidearm, which Porter (Mel Gibson) takes from him and uses for the rest of the film.
Pearl (Lucy Liu) carries a blued Walther PPK with pearl grips (possibly in relation with her name) as her sidearm. An Outfit member is seen firing one at Porter during the final firefight as well.
The Triad van driver (Jeff Imada) is seen firing a SIG-Sauer P220 through the floor of the van at Porter (Mel Gibson). Earlier in the film Porter is seen taking a SIG P220 from one of Carter's (William Devane) guards after knocking him out with a roll of pennies and then using it to kill him. They are noted as the P220 model by their lack of double stack bulges on the frame, and their .45-sized muzzle diameters.
When Porter (Mel Gibson) is attacked by the Triad gang members, two of them are seen firing M3 "Grease Guns". They clearly have external charging handles, helping to identify them as older M3s, not M3A1s.
One of the Triad gang members is seen using a 2nd Generation Glock 17 to shoot at Porter (Mel Gibson) in the taxi cab. Later Porter is seen disposing of two Glock 17s after killing two thugs in the restroom.
The two Glocks Porter takes from the restroom thugs appear to be first generation models due to their lack of ridges in the grips.
Radioman (Kwame Amoaku) tries to save Arthur Stegman (David Paymer) with a sawed-off Remington 870 shotgun before being mowed down by the Triads. Based on the sling swivel on the pistol grip, it is assumed this gun was professionally sawed down by a film armorer.
