Paydirt (2020) User Reviews (38)

It's Dirt Allright!

[nebk · 3/10 · 7 August 2020]

This is badly written with a disjointed story, mostly bad performances and worse dialogue. Nicknames like The Brit, The Babe, The Badass, The Brawn, The Brains make me think the writer stopped reading the dictionary after the letter B.

The story is about a crew of criminals whose leader The Brit played by Luke Goss is released after 5 years in jail. There is a lot of cartel money that went missing years ago and The Brit and his crew want it as does the cartel boss. A disgraced sheriff Tucker played by Val Kilmer wants to stop them. There are also some corrupt ex-DEA agents and the obligatory twist that means and adds nothing in this case.

The effects in this movie are terrible especially the little puffs of smoke indicating gunshots and blood spray that indicates someone has been shot. The dubbing of Val Kilmer sounds absolutely nothing like him. It is understandable though given the health issues and throat operations he had.

The terrible dialogue, references to influencers, and other pop culture phenomenon mixed with some nudity and vulgarity seem to be there to make the movie appealing but if anything they make it more appalling then anything else. Overall Kilmer and Goss both deserve better projects. A 2.5 to 3 out of 10. Not worth the time to watch it.

When a 5th-grader writes a screenplay

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 4/10 · 17 August 2020]

What a mess. Riddled with plot issues, long dragged out scenes, ridiculous and unnecessary dialogue, and a cheesy unorganized story that a 5th-grader would write. Cinematography was the only decent part, and the score not bad for a B-grade film. The director failed at directing his cast, that even the seasoned B-actors seemed like it was their first acting gig. I'm a fan of Luke Goss, and this was his worst film. Val Kilmer seemed drunk and bored throughout. I struggled to stay awake. Huge pass.

Pure dirt

[drunken_munki · 3/10 · 15 November 2020]

This is poorly written film that tries to be slick like a Guy Ritchie film; but what you get is a messy story with bad performances and cheesy dialogue that doesn't land as either cool or funny.

The music is desperately thrown in as a mismatched selection. The scenes are edited in a haphazardly thrown together like a random pile of dirt.

3/10 an awful experience.

Awful

[roger_towne · 1/10 · 4 September 2020]

In a word, awful. Amateurish and 100% not worth your time.

Waste of my time

[Ablischke · 2/10 · 26 November 2020]

This movie dragged n it was so bad I dozed off twice.

Waste of time

[info-70638 · 3/10 · 4 October 2020]

This movie is just dirt. Since it's a short film I thought it would be captivating from start to finish. But the opposite is true. It's hard to watch this one all the way to the end. The acting is very bad. The story is simple and the execution dull and without humor. This is not recommended.

Someone owes me $6

[noadverseeffect · 5/10 · 27 September 2020]

The plot is transparent. The acting is horrendous. The antihero squad members are named The Brit, The Brawn, The Brain, The Babe, and The Badass. The surprise twist at the end was so clever that you probably didn't figure it out until about four minutes into the movie. I paid $6 to watch this thing, and I feel completely ripped off.

Poor in every way!!

[rodandjoy · 1/10 · 8 February 2021]

Poor script, poor acting and a rambling plot (or lack of) leave this a very disappointing show. Not worth the effort.

Not even watchable

[shm777 · 1/10 · 29 November 2020]

I've sat through some pretty mediocre stuff because it cost less than 2 bucks via Redbox, was free online or because I had nothing else to do. But this piece of crap wasn't even worth leaving it turned on. Who wrote this, a stoned 12 year old? And it must've been produced by the same sort of person. Meaningless, pointless, stupid and inconsequential barf. I am never this critical but if you're going to create something, at least have the pride and integrity to TRY to make it good.

Val Kill More!

[shantavakian · 10/10 · 19 August 2021]

Good for you, Val! Not blockbuster status, but at least it makes a valiant attempt!

Very poor when it comes to everything

[dlracer2 · 1/10 · 19 July 2021]

Amateurish would be a compliment. This one is a stinker you would only watch to see Val Kilmer. Val is a shell of a man who spends his entire screen time covering up his neck and delivering lines as though he also has a brain injury. I'm not making fun of him, but I am upset that he was completely wasted on this film. The ENTIRE CAST was absolutely dreadful. The director and the camera work was bizarre. The writers didn't know how to write, the camera guys didn't know how to shoot, the sound team was clueless, the stunts were awful, the effects were completely the worst, the stereotype accents were cringe and the dialogue was hilariously catastrophic. There was nothing redeeming about this film whatsoever. No one even deserves credit for the effort. The only thing going for it, is that it was a better film than Disney Wars: "The Last Jedi "

Disappointing

[MattHankinson · 3/10 · 12 July 2021]

I put this on not expecting an Oscar winner but just an easy 90 mins watch. It was not. Scenes dragged on and I lost interest.

I did not enjoy Val Kilmers 'performance' if that's what you can call it.

The writing is a little cheesy and cringe. I think everyone involved knows this and it's why they try to be so tongue and cheek.

I was originally drawn to this film because of Luke Goss and he does have some screen presence to be fair.

There were a couple of positives for example I like how they introduce each person - very Quentin Tarantino esque- however the names where a little cringe which went along nicely with the writing I've already mentioned.

I liked the cutaways, which reminded me of family guy.

Some nice visuals and musical background.

A film which has all the elements and the potential to be good which doesn't really achieve it as best it could which is a shame.

The only thing I have to say is WTF HAPPENED TO VAL KILMER???

[jstrlxeh · 1/10 · 5 December 2020]

The only thing I have to say is WTF HAPPENED TO VAL KILMER???

Garbage

[kevinmartin-21795 · 1/10 · 26 February 2021]

Easily the biggest pile of dross I've ever watched. Thankfully it's not even a 90 minute film.

Boring

[pelczbernadett · 1/10 · 31 January 2021]

The most boring movie I've ever seen.I can't say nothing else about it..Just terrible

Where's your sister?

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 31 August 2020]

Brit (Luke Goss ) goes to jail for five years in California for smuggling pot. There are 33 million dollars of cartel money that is missing. Urban legend claims it is buried in the desert. Brit gets back with the gang which consists of Brains (Mike Hatton), Brawn (Paul Sloan), Babe (Murielle Telio), and Badas$ (Veronika Bozeman). Ex-sheriff Bill (Val Kilmer) is after him. Kilmer's real-life daughter plays his screen daughter and was not convincing. Brit has a parole officer (Mirtha Michelle) tag along with him. Her name doesn't begin with the letter "B".

This is a grindhouse light. The big question as were the money is buried isn't answered until the end. It should have been climatic, but wasn't.

Guide: F-word. Brief sex. No nudity.

Low Budget, Quality Ocean's 11 Remake

[colbathmark · 2/10 · 23 November 2020]

First off, I want to say, "Sorry, Mr. Kilmer". You've played some very memorable roles, of which I have fond memories.

That said, my main beef with this Ocean's 11 knockoff is not that they didn't introduce and develop the characters; they did that, minimally. It's that they did not ever seem to utilize the strengths of each role that they built up in the beginning. Not sure if the writers ran out of steam, or if the producers said, "Meh, 90 minutes is enough", but there wasn't enough time for a plot.

Pretty good for being made on iPhone

[jenniferwarnock · 3/10 · 30 August 2021]

Ok-not made on iPhone. That's an insult to why an iPhone can do.

Really embarrassing, mostly for Val Kilmer, and his daughter, who clearly can't act. Which is amazing, given she is supposed to be playing his daughter. Zero attempt has been made to even make Val's dub remotely sound like him. He barely looks like he wants to be there, and the dubbing is rubbish. His appearance is hard to not be distracted by, and the embarrassing camera angles (shots behind his back while he's speaking) are just sad.

Also, it's just boring.

Val Kilmer

[jamieleepratt · 10/10 · 6 March 2021]

This morning when I awoke I was thinking to myself " self, we need to watch a film with absolute talent. One that takes advantage of every possible movie trope known to man." Wow! I am simply blown away by everyones performance in this Oscar winning masterpiece. I can't say enough about the hidden chemistry between each of the Academy Award nominees. The thespians who graced my flat screen.have brought such joy and fulfillment to my life. The crazy thing is there is this cat that keeps meandering around my front porch. Every day I have to clean hair off of my favorite sitting space. I think I know who's cat it is but I'm not sure? My wife absolutely loved this work of art and I knew I was going to be seeing more of her that night.

No effort

[jesabi777 · 1/10 · 31 January 2021]

I'm assuming they made this whole movie over a long weekend, the only thing worse than the writing was the acting but the directing wasn't far behind. Awful movie like most that have been farted out the past 3 years!

ZZZZZZ

[marttito24 · 1/10 · 15 September 2020]

This movie is so boring I kept checking every 5 minutes to see how much time was left. Felt like a 4 hour movie. Acting was terrible, plot was terrible. Renting this garbage was a waste of money.

Just another run-of-the-mill crime thriller...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 8 August 2020]

Well, this 2020 crime thriller from writer and director Christian Sesma was a pretty straight forward movie experience. Maybe to the point where it became overly generic.

The storyline was adequate, although it didn't really offer anything new or overly innovative to the genre. In fact, there was nothing much here in "Paydirt" that haven't been seen in previous similar movies. That sort of kept the movie back a bit.

The characters in the movie were adequate, but it just felt a bit underplayed. I feel that most characters could have been much more interesting if they were given more in-depth personalities and stories.

They did, however, have an adequate assembly of casted actors and actresses. Normally, I am not much of a fan of Luke Goss, but he actually carried "Paydirt" quite well. And I was expecting Val Kilmer to have more of a bigger role, as he was listed on the front cover/poster of the movie. And truth be told, the movie's cover/poster was actually interesting, and it was the reason why I ended up sitting down to watch it.

There was an okay amount of action in the movie, which definitely helped to make the movie watchable and keep the otherwise generic and mundane storyline afloat.

All in all, this is just another run-of-the-mill crime thriller. So if you enjoy that genre, then chances are that you will find enjoyment in "Paydirt". I found the movie to be mediocre entertainment actually. As such, my rating of the movie lands on a five out of ten stars.

It was torture just watching

[pcranjit · 1/10 · 10 November 2020]

One of the worst movies i have watched this year. Soo bad that i couldnt sit enough to complete the movie. A combo of bad directing, acting, and screenplay. If you are planning to watch this, trust me, save your time for something more worthwhile.

VIEWS ON FILM review of Paydirt

[burlesonjesse5 · 4/10 · 28 November 2020]

"I got you". Yup, and I got to see a crime thriller that barely finds the 80-minute mark. Why am I not surprised.

Anyway a chrome domed, criminal mastermind gets out of jail. After checking in with his parole officer, he gathers his old crew to find buried money that was left over from an unsuccessful DEA run in. That's the layout of the scorched, strewed, and dopey Paydirt (my latest review).

Paydirt, with its Brian A. Miller-style shootouts, its twists that feel too built-in, and its "beam me up, Scotty" locales between California and Mexico, is yet another flick where the characters talk tough while acting like complete morons.

Part Guy Ritchie, part Smokin' Aces, and part Ocean's Eleven (all the bad parts mind you), the film has a nifty title and a decent amount of screen presence from star Luke Goss. Other than that, Paydirt can't really "hit" anything.

Paydirt is directed by an actual restaurateur (Christian Sesma) and features co-star Val Kilmer having his lines dubbed due to his current bout with throat cancer (get well Val). Sesma gives Paydirt the usual direct-to-video look coupled with binding flashbacks and freeze-frame title cards.

Sesma's script (if that's what you wanna call it) causes his lofty actors to childishly banter. They come off like tooled eighth graders. The phrase "game-time" is said numerous times in Paydirt and while it doesn't receive drinking game status, it's still pretty annoying.

I said earlier that Paydirt has the elements of stuff akin to directors Ritchie, Joe Carnahan, and Steven Soderbergh. The problem is that Christian Sesma riffs on them without having a true voice of his own. As an ego tripper via writer, producer, and helmer, his film-making style is shine on shine without "paying" it forward. There's no "reward" here from watching Paydirt.

I love Val Kilmer too much to let this dreck afflict my memory of the man.

[TheElderBrother · 3/10 · 8 June 2022]

This is a dreadful piece of schlock, and you should skip it. The fact that they could dub a voice in for Kilmer does not justify subjecting him to material this badly inspired, poorly written, or abysmally directed. The story is stupid. The characters are caricatures of bad cliches, and the voice they dubbed in for Kilmer is dreadful.

I stayed with it out of respect for Kilmer, but this movie is hideous, and it should never be aired again. If you can see it for free, skip it. If someone offers to pay you to sit through it, know that no amount of cash is worth the damage it will do to your psyche to be subjected to filmmaking this hideous. They should use forced watching of this movie as punishment for shoplifting.

It was good to see my hero Val Kilmer up and acting again, even if this project should be buried in the desert, so I gave it three stars. Dreadful.

It is at least that bad, and I'm probably being generous.