Max Payne (2008)

Very disappointing...

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Max Payne is inspired from a game with a same name, which tells us about the journey of a rogue police officer who are looking for a revenge over the death of his family. Directed by John Moore and starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis.The story begins with Max (played by Mark Wahlberg), a maverick cop, looking for revenge for the death of his family and partner. Later, he teamed up with beautiful and deadly Russian mobster, Mona Sax (played by Mila Kunis) to start his journey into the underworld to hunt Jack Lupino (played by Amaury Nolasco) down.First of all, for somebody who plays the game and quite fond of it, Max Payne fails miserably in capturing every parts that make the game interesting. The concept of a single man against the corruption of the system is never shown in the film. Rather than a journey of a simple hard-boiled detective, it simply devolved into mindless action flicks. They even misinterpreted the nightmares that Max had becoming some stupid supernatural elements with winged demons.The performance are sub-par, but you actually understand with it as probably the cast themselves has no idea what they should do during the take. We couldn't blame them at all. The actions are completely dull, and simply just try to emulate the bullet time effect with no success.It also looks as if a neo-noir film, with all edgy gritty more dark tone, but after you watch the half of the movie, you realized the story has no noir elements in it. They simply put the darken all the shots and call it a noir film.So overall, this movie is a disgrace and insult for everyone who take a look at this movie because they loved the game at the first place. But probably for somebody who never heard about Max Payne before, the movie could be your stupid action flick to watch.

'Max Payne' is the movie adaptation of the infamous computer game. Many critics say it is something which that the movie makers have not ever played or even seen still frames of. I would also honestly admit I have never played it. So I can only give my individual judgement of the movie itself. The movie is about a cop played by Wahlberg who is intent capturing the killers of wife and young child. This is shown in flashback sequence in the middle portion of the movie. From his undercover snitch his is given leads and before he can question them they are killed off. However his partner discovers some information which leads Payne to a pharmaceutical company that his wife was employed for. The reason behind his family's murder forms the latter part of the movie. There is also the role played by Mila Kunis who is after the killer of her sister. The movie is directed by John Moore who is behind the upcoming 'Stephen King' Movie IT and made the 2006 'The Omen' The cinematography is very appropriate with the film. There are many moments that are reminiscent of Frank Miller's 'Sin City'. As a matter of the fact the entire film is shot in that same dark bleached style. The film has good pacing and does not waste time with the plot. Many fans of the game have criticised the film for not being faithful to the game. But I guess it's each to their own. Mark Wahlberg once again hammers loudly at the screen. Unfortunately his emotions are underdeveloped, but plays the role to his best ability. Frankly I feel that this role was too restraining for him. Beau Bridges also gives good support.

Max Payne (2008): Dir: John Moore / Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris O'Donnell, Nelly Furtado: Noir styled action film based on a video game. Max Payne investigates murders related to that of his wife involving drugs and paranoia. Directed by John Moore with exquisite tinted color and black and white. Moore previously directed the remake of The Omen as well as the pitiful Behind Enemy Lines. Here he further displays his talent for action while really only contributing to the empty sub genre of video game films. Screenplay is creative although the concept is hardly genius and is hopeless with a conclusion that leaves more hopelessness. Mark Wahlberg plays off the bitter hardness of Payne whose happiness died with his wife. Mila Kunis plays the sister of a victim who has her own resources to assisting Payne. While the leads fare fine, the supporting roles are a hindrance. Beau Bridges and Chris O'Donnell are given underwritten roles, which is unfortunate given the fact that neither have made much impact in film within the previous few years prior to this. Musician Nelly Furtado also makes an appearance although whether she matches her music with her acting, is one's opinion. The highlight here is the noir tinted color that gives the film a detective feel otherwise it is populated with video game violence with tremendous visuals that underline the hopelessness. Score: 5 / 10

Max Payne is a 2008 American neo-noir action film loosely based on the video game series of the same name developed by Remedy Entertainment (Rockstar Studios for the third game) and published by Rockstar Games. It was written by Beau Thorne and directed by John Moore. The film stars Mark Wahlberg in the title role as Max Payne, Mila Kunis as Mona Sax, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Jim Bravura, and Beau Bridges as BB Hensley. The film revolves around revenge, centering on a policeman's journey through New York City's criminal underworld, as he investigates the deaths of his wife and child.Max Payne is a maverick cop - a mythic anti-hero - determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murders of his family and partner. Hell-bent on revenge, his obsessive investigation takes him on a nightmare journey into a dark underworld. As the mystery deepens, Max is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world and face an unthinkable betrayal.