Rent Max Payne (2008)

Not Bad Ass, just BAD! - Max Payne review by CP Customer

Wow The best thing about this film is the front picture on the DVD case. Look in the dictionary under the word Derivative(don't rely on my spelling) and you should see the title of this film. From the cliche` and at the same time badly scripted setup to the copycat special effects. This was Soo awfull I watched to the end expecting a twist as I could not believe it could be simply that bad. Perhaps Mr Warlberg just got lucky with his career choices upto now, because if this his idea of money spinning franchise boy is he of the mark!

Almost Payne-less - Max Payne review by CP Customer

Max Payne takes its inspiration from the video game series, but doesn’t follow either of the two titles closely. Instead Moore has harvested some of the elements and tried to weave a new, more sustainable adventure for the big screen, with more emphasis on the supernatural. The end result is mixed, as even the games themselves were extremely shallow affairs with a heavy slant of violence. Mark Wahlberg takes the lead role; seeking his family’s killer, blasting his way through any potential clues to pinpoint those responsible. The production standard is high, far in excess of most video game adaptations. Payne is beautifully shot and captures the gritty film noir feel that made the games so popular. In developing Max Payne the script writers have lost some of its originality and infused it characteristics we’ve seen countless times elsewhere. The end result is something that is by no means a terrible video game adaptation, just merely average.

Terrible, awful, boring, banal, forgettable, rubbish, woeful dreck. Could have been so much more - Max Payne review by TB

This still to this day remains the only film I have even come close to walking out of from the cinema. The only reason I didn't was because I'd spent most of my pocket money on the ticket...

I love the Max Payne games. Everything about them is amazing, from the voice acting by James McCaffrey to the music and the repeated references to clichés and their impact on his life, Max is a multifaceted and fascinating protagonist. The games also welcomingly had very strong female characters in them as well, especially Mona Sax, who was effectively the female version of Max with a life similarly filled with pain and hurt.

I mention clichés and Max's hatred and amusement of them. It is difficult to predict, if Max was a real person, what his reaction to this film would be.

Having watched the trailer, which still to this day is one of the best film trailers I've ever seen, I was pumped and looking forward to it. Then it started...

It has to be said, for me Mark Wahlberg was actually inspired casting. He is a very strong presence, can really do action scenes well and also looks a lot like Max. All of this deserts him in this film. His performance isn't even a performance, it is a trudge through a terrible movie where nothing works.

But Wahlberg cannot be blamed for the failure of this film. That lies squarely at the door of the director John Moore and the script writers. How this film managed to get greenlit and made, let alone why the cast agreed to do it, is beyond me. Nothing works, you don't care about anything and for a game which is primarily intensely action oriented, there are two scenes which could be charitably called "action."

The biggest elephant in the room is the obvious fact that Max Payne is effectively a different version of the Matrix/bullet time. So the film makers were trying everything to not to be accused of copying that film/action. But, you cannot have Max Payne without that in it. And there is now a film series which actually uses that type of action shooting to great effect: The Equalizer series. If the film makers hadn't had that fear, this film might have at least had some passable action to distract from the total failure of the story.

I honestly can't think of one good thing to say about this film. I did mention the trailer earlier and how great that was. Save yourself 90 minutes of your life you'll never get back, watch the trailer instead and rent a decent Wahlberg action film like Lone Survivor or Deepwater Horizon.