“When a fresh faced guy in a Chevy offered him a lift, Parker told him to go to hell. The guy said, ‘Screw you, buddy,’ yanked his Chevy back into the stream of traffic, and roared on down to the tollbooths. Parker spat in the right-hand lane, lit his last cigarette, and walked across the George Washington Bridge.”
-excerpt from Donald Westlake’s The Hunter
Throughout history stories of vengeance have had a popular place in society. From Greek Tragedy to Edgar Allen Poe, audiences have been fascinated by tales of men and women who have gotten reprisal on those who have betrayed them. When the art form of film came into being, revenge epics had no problem making the transition from books and the stage to the silver screen. All through film history to today’s modern motion pictures, “getting even” has been big business. From recent movies like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill to classic Spaghetti Westerns like Once Upon a Time in the West, spectators have flocked to theatres to see heroes get retribution. Some stories even seemed to be told over and over.
Donald Westlake’s novel The Hunter (produced under his pen name Richard Stark) is the story of Parker, a small time crook who is finally able to pull off the heist of a lifetime. Parker’s half of the proceeds are more than enough for him to end his life of crime, but he is betrayed by his best friend, Mal Resnick, and his wife. During the double-cross he is shot and left for dead. He lives but is left to recover from his wounds in prison. Upon his escape, Parker’s revenge is meant to be swift and unmerciful, but in the interim between the betrayal and Parker’s emancipation, Mal has joined an organized crime syndicate becoming a powerful and well protected man. Parker sweeps through mafia underlings to get to the man he wants and then above him. His aim is only the murder of his former friend and then the money owed him, but the syndicate tries to stop him out of principle. They have an investment in Mal and decide to protect him. The Hunter ends in a storm of bloodshed, leaving death as the only real winner.
As a story The Hunter is only a pulp novel with a cult following. As far as tales of revenge go its quality does not reach a Count of Monte Cristo level, but the drive of its hero to settle his personal score is so unflinching that Parker has universal appeal. His popularity has been so great in fact, that his story has been retold on screen three different times. Each film follws the basic framework of Westlake’s novel, but has its own voice. The tone of each film varies greatly, showing the director’s particular vison of Parker’s quest. The Hunter‘s darkness can also be seen in the performances of the actors that have to portray its hero. Though each may be one of the brightest stars of theit particular eras, Parker brings each actor to a cold place that they had never been before on screen.
Payback starring Mel Gibson and Directed by Brian Helgeland
The most recent incarnation of the story to reach theaters was 1999’s Payback . Starring Mel Gibson, the film brought a quirky, ironic tone to the story as opposed to the harder edge usually associated with Parker’s odyssey. While the story does retain much of its violent nature, a great deal of humor was injected into the tale to give it more mass appeal. Parker’s name has been changed to Porter, but the premise is still basically the same. Porter has pulled off the heist of his career and plans to ride off into the sunset, but his partner, Val Resnick, shoots Porter, steals his wife and runs off with the loot. As already stated, the humor of this version is what sets it apart from its counterparts. Academy Award winner Gibson’s deadpan performance is just a darker variation on his Martin Riggs performance from the Lethal Weapon series, but he does embody the drive Westlake envisioned for Parker. The real bright spots of the movie are the supporting cast, made up of mostly character actors. Greg Henry is effectively smarmy as Val Resnick. Henry plays the role as a man who trying desperately to act tough, but on the inside is actually quite pitiful. Any confrontation with Porter ends badly for Resnick, including a scene where Porter interrupts his former partner in the middle of a session with an Asian dominatrix played by a mostly unknown at the time Lucy Lui. Lui turns out to be the leader of the gang that Porter and Resnick stole their money from and more hijinx ensue when Porter’s identity is revealed to them. Also shining in small roles are actors Bill Duke and Jack Conley as dirty cops out to profit on Porter’s rampage and James Coburn as syndicate under boss Fairfax. Coburn probably has the funniest scene in the movie as Porter holds not only him but his luggage hostage. After Porter shoots a suitcase full on $30,000 suits, Coburn simply replies, “That’s just mean man!”
Payback is a decent action film with a really well put together cast. The film doesn’t stand as a highlight for anyone involved really, but it’s not a blemish either. Most fans just looking for another Martin Riggs-esque adventure won’t be too disappointed. Those fans looking for L.A. Confidential 2 will be disappointed. The film does get across Parker’s loneliness and betrayal very well, but the resolution with Resnick is a bit anticlimactic. Overall the film is a fun and humorous action comedy, but not mind blowing.
Full Contact starring Chow Yun Fat and Directed by Ringo Lam
The most accessible version of the film may actually be the one adaptation not in the English language. Instead of a moody thriller or a quirky dark comedy, Ringo Lam’s Full Contact is a full blown Hong Kong action shootout. Chow Yun Fat stars as Jeff, the version of Parker for this film. Unlike other variations on the character, Jeff is an upstanding guy with a strict code of honor. Jeff only takes part in the big heist to help his friend Sam, played by Anthony Wong, out of financial trouble. To his dismay, Sam has hired a well known gang of thieves to help with the operation and things do not go as planned. The gang, headed by Judge, played by Simon Yam, turns on Jeff. Shocking Yun Fat’s character also is the betrayal by Sam, who is weak-willed and plans on stealing Jeff’s girlfriend. After Jeff’s inevitable recovery, the action goes hot and heavy and climaxes in a gun fight that rivals any seen on screen before.
As I have said before, this may be the most accessible version of the film ever made. The action is fantastic and all performances are well played in the film. Each of the gang members are eccentrically entertaining and yet standard enough to be easily identifiable. Frankie Chin’s Deano is the gang’s muscle, Bonnie Fu’s Virgin runs diversions for the gang and Simon Yam’s Judge is the leader and most peculiar of the entire gang. In his off times, Judge is apparently a magician, as every time you see him he is pulling something out of his sleeve, whether it be a handkerchief, cigarette lighter or knife. Judge’s character goes from aloof to deadly in an instant as he shoots with deadly accuracy and is handy with a blade. The Resnick incarnation, Sam, is the most sympathetic yet put on screen. Sam just seems weak willed and jealous but not particularly malicious as in other versions. In fact, Sam actually joins the fight against Judge’s gang at the end of the film taking a few bullets in the process. Chow Yun Fat as Jeffery is an exemplary performance. The role would be a defining one of his career if he had not gone on to his Oscar worthy turn as swordsman Li Mu Bai in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or his performances in John Woo’s crime epics The Killer and Hard Boiled. The film’s only real flaw seems to be some pacing issues toward the middle portion and the montage sequence in which Jeff recovers from his wounds is very reminiscent of every Rocky training sequence ever, complete with Survivor-like music. Otherwise, Full Contact is a supremely entertaining movie and great action film.
Point Blank starring Lee Marvin and Directed by John Boorman
The most influential and poignant of the three screen versions of the The Hunter is 1967’s Point Blank. Starring Lee Marvin as Walker, the film is a tour de force of filmmaking by then newcomer John Boorman. The entire film is told as if it were a dream. Sequences go from present to past and back again without letting the audience catch its breath. In fact, at the end, you’re not even sure if the film you’ve just watched hasn’t been a dream by a dying man. What you are sure of by the end though, is that you’ve just watched a stupendous film. Lee Marvin is an unstoppable force as the Parker character in this film. He kicks in doors, crashes cars and shoots whoever gets in his way. Marvin made a career by playing tough guys on screen in films like The Dirty Dozen and Hell in the Pacific but never before was he ever so cold on screen. Also extraordinary in this film is John Vernon as Mal Reese, the Resnick character. Vernon, mostly known as Dean Wormer in John Landis’ comedy Animal House, really strikes the right note as Mal. He is equally desperate and then malevolent. Played charismatically by Vernon, Mal’s treachery is even more wounding as Mal goes from Walker’s best friend to bitter enemy in an instant.
Point Blank is perhaps one of the best crime dramas of its era. Its amazing cinematography and storytelling style was par excellence at the time of its release. It fits in significantly with the top films of it genre in that era, such as Dirty Harry and The French Connection. For revenge tales of the time such as 1974’s blockbuster Death Wish the movie even stands superior. The story telling style of the film is also a big influence on Steven Soderberg’s 1999 film The Limey. Point Blank was also a big stepping stone for director John Boorman who later gave us classics like Deliverance and Excalibur.
All three of these movies came from a little pulp revenge novel. Many stories like The Hunter have been published over the years, but few others have had this staying power in our cinematic mindset. Its hero is a base individual and brings out a very dark side to the actors who portray him, but people are still drawn to this story. It is our primal instinct to feel that sometimes when you have been wronged, you are the only one who can do anything about it. The Hunter is a prime example of a man taking action and for it, receiving immortality on screen.
