Max Payne

We know that Mark Wahlberg refused to play Rockstar's "Max Payne" game before performing in this film, but, in addition, I must assume that neither the director nor the screenwriter ever played this game before, either. If there weren't so many shots of the background scenery that tied in with the game (although they were never fully or, in some cases, partially explored), I would assume that no one involved in the movie had even seen cut scenes from the game. I would have assumed that they got a one paragraph synopsis on the game, with character names, and just made up their own story that barely connected to the game storyline.

When this movie was made for a "PG-13" rating instead of an "R" rating, most of the fans were nervous. And, after seeing the train wreck this film became, it's clear to see that our worst fears were realized. Worse even than whether this works as a movie adaptation of a video game is whether this film would works as a movie if you have no knowledge of the video game. Unfortunately, if you went to see this film looking for an action flick, you would say that this was one of the most boring, yawn-inducing films you'd seen in the action genre.

The lack of narration throughout this film, the lack of a solid action director like John Woo (who knows how to do slow-mo), and the lack of anyone from the Rockstar team helping with screen writing added up to what can only be described as a hollow, dull film that has virtually no tie to the amazing game that spawned it. The studio system strikes again.

Mark Wahlberg plays popular game hero Max Payne, a cop who sets out to find the man who killed his wife and child, while doing so he uncovers a potential conspiracy that could lead him to the killer.

While Max Payne boasts a great tone, atmosphere and great cinematography, the overall film wasn't really all that great, the acting was tough to judge, there were some good performances but the actors seem like they didn't have much to work with, the action scenes are minimal, and was just a ton of shooting and they weren't all that exciting, however if you are interested in this film, you can watch it, but I feel that there are better options.

Without comparing it to the game, I felt they could have done more to make it a bit more interesting and exciting, and possibly add more to Max Payne's back story and they could've been more inventive with the action scenes instead of making people just shoot at each other.

Otherwise, its a good concept and is well shot, but the execution needed a little more work.

I have never played the Max Payne games, so I have no idea if the movie was faithful to its origins. I've heard some people say that it was and others say it wasn't. But in any case, this really wasn't as bad as everyone seems to think. No, there wasn't as much action as you might get in a "Transporter" movie, but that didn't really bother me because sometimes I like movies that have a little more thought behind them. There were still some really awesome action sequences though and it was definitely beautifully shot. The atmosphere that they created with the lighting was great.

However, there were still some things that I didn't like about this movie and that they could have done better. First, most of it, especially the beginning, seemed very jumbled and hard to understand. The writing and the editing were sub-par. Second, and this is probably due to the bad writing and editing, you never really connect with any of the characters and so you can never really feel any overwhelming emotion about their situation. The whole thing seemed slightly hollow and empty, as if the writer and director themselves were not quite sure what they were trying to get at. Third, the acting sucked big time in some scenes. It wasn't horrible throughout the whole movie, but it still left much to be desired. Fourth, there were many things in the story that weren't fully explained, which only contributed to the hollow, confused feeling of the entire movie.

So, overall, it is not a bad film, but I was slightly disappointed. It really could have been an amazing movie, and I blame the writer and editor for almost completely ruining it. The only thing that saves it is the few awesome action scenes and the cinematography. But please don't believe anyone that says it one of the worst movies ever because it's not. It's just not as good as it should have been.

7.5/10

When I first heard about this film i was excited, I was excited because I have always been a huge fan of the games but this just didn't do it for me, some games are best kept as games. Although if the director or producer actually played the games they would probably be able to craft something a little more entertaining next time. Mark Wahlberg is usually a personal favourite of mine but I feel he was let down by a terrible script.

The games are amazing, I've always been a die hard fan of them, the way the story comes together i compelling and the way this story comes together is just draining and I dont recommend it to anyone, its enough to put you off the Max Payne series even though its incredible. I do have to note that there were a few intriguing fight scenes but that's as good as it got for me.

I was just as let down as Wahlberg was when I watched this, utterly disappointed and its such a shame, they had potential but it failed as some do.

This film is a really big missed opportunity. The styling and story line of the game could have been easily transferred t oa dark and violent film noir with a nice dose of conspiracy thrown in. Unfortunately all of this is wasted on a very tame and lackluster film that stick to a predictable formula with poor character development and sloppy dialogue.

Some of the visuals are nice but the lack of any true bullet time (which is a big mechanic of the games) is a real let down. As for the violence, yes there is a lot of shooting but this is a film that needed to be darker and more visceral. Had the action been more similar to films such as John Wick and the Raid or even the Punisher (TV series not film) and this film could of had potential. Unfortunately all of this was repeatedly squandered through.

The acting is fine but I felt that the poor script left them very little to work with. Hopefully in time this will get some form of reboot and correct these wrongs.