Paydirt (2020)

Directed by: Christian Sesma | 82 minutes | crime, thriller | Actors: Luke Goss, Val Kilmer, Mike Hatton, Paul Sloan, Nick Vallelonga, Mirtha Michelle, Veronika Bozeman, Murielle Telio, Mary Christina Brown, Teodora Djuric, Mara Fimbres, Mercedes Kilmer, Lorin McCraley

In the 80s, Val Kilmer was a rising star. He starred alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun in 1986 and scored one of the lead roles in Ron Howard’s 1988 ‘Willow’. Later, the American played superhero Batman in ‘Batman Forever’. In recent years Kilmer has grown considerably and has been forgotten and he spends his days in B-movies. For example, the actor shows up in ‘Paydirt’ where he can share the screen with another eighties star: Luke Goss.

Goss became known with his band Bros. The pop group was popular with a young audience. After the breakup of the band, the musician decided to turn to acting. Since the beginning of this century, the Briton has appeared in countless films. He stood out – under a thick layer of make-up – in films like ‘Blade II’ and ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’. In recent years, Goss has been an ideal candidate for unpretentious action films like ‘Death Race 2’. And now also ‘Paydirt’.

In ‘Paydirt’, a criminal (Goss) wants to claim his loot after serving his five-year prison sentence. This mountain of cash is hidden in the desert. In his quest for the money, the crook collides with other villains who are also after this amount of money. Meanwhile, there is also a sheriff (Kilmer) who doesn’t trust things and is after the criminal.

Director Christian Sesma has canned an unremarkable crime thriller with no crack or taste. The acting is flat (Kilmer clearly doesn’t feel like it), the soundtrack anonymous and the action rather cramped. ‘Paydirt’ exists and that’s about all. The chances of this film being recommended by anyone are virtually nil. This is soulless video feed made without creativity or love for the craft.