Based on the popular video game of the same title, MAX PAYNE is actually better than the majority of the video game made films, which really isn’t saying much. I read an article where some of the actors in the film had no idea the script was based on a video game until they signed onto the project. I never played the game, so I myself was also clueless as to what the story was about. After viewing the trailer I thought it was a film that would have a similar story to Constantine with all the angel and demons flying amok. Well, I was dead wrong about that and MAX PAYNE has more of a crime like story with hallucinations and rugs mixed in.
MAX PAYNE is about a cop( Mark Wahlberg) who’s wife and baby were killed by three criminals who broke into his house. Max managed to kill two of them, but the third one got away. Assigned to a desk job now, Max is no longer an active on duty detective. But at night, he goes hunting, looking for information on the one that got away, while fighting crime along the way. He is known by the underground criminals as a psycho bad ass that still won’t give up something that happened more than three years. When Max comes across a snitch who is having a party, Max learns of a drug that seems to be connected to a tattoo that all it’s users have inked on there skin. He soon learns that this drug is linked to wife and child’s death and that there is more behind it than just a small group of drug pushers. When a young women is killed, and Max’s former partner, things start to unravel and Max finds out the whole reasonn why his family was killed and who is behind not just the killings, but behind the drug that has people feeling invincible and hallucinating about demons following them around.
MAX PAYNE had a somewhat decent script. It had pretty solid character development, but the story was a bit all over the place and took a lot of time to get to the point during certain scenes. It’s a story that could of been cut down a bit, as well as put into a simpler form. I mean I understand that the producers and writers of this film wanted to make it more than just a video game movie and give it more of a story. However I felt it was a bit complex for my liking even with it’s over the top action scenes and out of control gun battles.
The movie is filled with an all star cast with Mark Wahlberg in the role of Max Payne. The cat includes Beau Bridges, Mila Kunis, Ludacris, Chris O’Donnell, Donal Logue and Amaury Nolasco. The cast in the film were all pretty good in their roles, and they should be. It was kind of unexpected that for a video game that was not as popular as many of the others out there had such a start studded cast. I honestly didn’t’ think Mark Wahlberg was going to fit the part, from my initial viewings of the trailer. But he actually did a great job with the role and made it work.
One thing I have to give the filmmakers credit for is how well they they visually made the film look similar to the atmosphere of the video game. The frigid New York City winter time, with the heavy snow fall and the dark heavy feel of the city at night time. The filmmakers really were able to capture that feel and along with the soundtrack it gave the film that dark feel and dread that Max Payne has inside of him. Visually this film is very good as it relates to the character. The mood of the film always concedes with the way Max is feeling. So from an artistic perspective the filmmakers got it right. On the downside, the film does come off as having that look that SIN CITY and 300 had. The over use of CGI and battle scenes that were so over the top they seemed more fantasy than realistic. Sure, this is a film based on a video game, and maybe in your opinions I might be looking to deep into the visual aspect. But the script had such a complex story that I almost felt it really didn’t need all the glorified special effects. It almost felt as if the story and the action were two separate entities.
MAX PAYNE is one of those films where I’m kind of tossed up about whether or not I really enjoyed it more than I disliked it. I did like certain things about the story, the things that I can relate to as a family man and what I would do if my family was taken away the way Max Payne’s family was. I enjoyed the use of the visuals and how they related to the character. It was the little things like I mentioned above that I liked about the film. But then there were the things that were to over the top, such as the crazy epic gun battles and the crazy demon hallucinations along with the complex storyline that threw me off. In it’s defense I did watch the extended cut of the film, but did feel that it dragged on a bit to the point where I just wanted it the story to get to the point.
I think MAX PAYNE is a film that many older teens and fans of the video game would enjoy. I’m not sure if it’s a film that follows the story of the game or not, but it does have a video game feel in some of it’s action scenes as well as it shots. Fans of films like SIN CITY, 300 and the likes will probably enjoy this one, I’m not sure that it’s really a film that many horror fans would enjoy, but it does have some pretty graphic content.
– Horror Bob
Special Edition DVD Specs:
MAX PAYNE Special Edition DVD will be presented in widescreen format (2.35:1 aspect ratio) with English 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish & French Dolby Surround plus English and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features include:
- Both the Theatrical Version and Unrated Extended Cut of the film
- Commentary with Director John Moore, Production Designer Daniel Dorrance and Visual Effects Supervisor Everett Burrell
- Picture production featurette – Part 1
- Michelle Payne animated graphic novel
Max Payne Unrated Digital Copy for portable media players
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
