Review: Max Payne

Max Payne
2.5 Lloyds – Not Family-Friendly
PG-13 for violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content,
some sexuality and brief strong language.

Based on the interactive video game by Rockstar, Max Payne tells the story of a maverick cop determined to track down the people responsible for the brutal murder of his family. Filled with revenge, and obsessed over the investigation, we discover Payne on a nightmare journey into the dark underworld of crime. But, even in the face of darkness, he’s determined to deliver justice, no matter what the cost, as he investigates a string of killings in the city. As the mystery deepens, Max is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world and face an unthinkable betrayal.

Max Payne does not know the word subtle. This movie reaches out and grabs your attention the moment it begins. The opening scene has our hero floating to the bottom of a river, surrounded by bodies saying;

“I don’t believe in heaven, but I do believe in fear and death.”

There was not a lot of hype heading to the opening of Max Payne. However, that certainly didn’t stop people from buying tickets as it ended up grabbing the number one spot for it’s debut weekend pulling in $18 million dollars. Obviously the video game crowd was well aware of what to expect with the movie. I must admit I’ve never played the game, but the fact that the leading character is played by Mark Wahlberg did intrigue me. I could care less about the fact that rap-singer Ludacris is also in the movie. But, with Beau Bridges in the cast line up, I figured it can’t be all that bad. As I already mentioned, this movie pretty much reaches out from the big screen and demands your attention in the very first scene. With an almost Jason Bourne feeling to it, we see our hero, or is he really a hero, clad in a leather jacket, struggling for life sinking to the bottom of a river. As a matter of fact, the first time I saw a trailer for Max Payne I was sure I was watching a trailer for a new Bourne flick!

Even though it’s no Bourne movie…

The similarities are numerous!

Mark Wahlberg plays the part of a disconnected loner with an attitude quite well. In Max Payne we find him working in the cold case department of his police station. It seems only appropriate as there’s a sense of darkness, despair, and coldness to the entire character of, and Max Payne movie. If you like Wahlberg’s style, especially in movies such as Shooter, you will not be disappointed with his performance in Max Payne. Then, when you toss in Beau Bridges as a supporting actor, you really have a great combination when it comes to two strong on-screen characters. But even after saying that, don’t think that Max Payne is a super strong movie. After all, it’s based on a video game!

Over all, for a movie based on a game, Max Payne does have a plot line that surprisingly holds together throughout the entire movie. By the time the flick ends after an hour and 40 minutes, we actually discover some closure with Max Payne. Again, in what is pretty much a direct steal from the Jason Bourne play book, we discover our hero replaying the scene from the beginning of the movie. However, this time around as he finds closure with what happened to his family he’s saying;

“I don’t know about heaven but I do believe in angels.”

I really had no idea what to expect when I entered the theater to see Max Payne. I did know from the outset of the flick it was rated wrong. After all, the game is rated M for mature. With that in mind, how in the world did the producers of the movie ever manage to get a PG-13 rating. But then again, this shows the flaw in the current rating system. The MPAA need to rework the current rating system and come up with an M for Mature audiences rating. While this does not need to carry an R rating, Max Payne is for the 16 and up crowd. In the end, while it does have a plot and story line that holds together, Max Payne is pretty much an eye candy flick bordering on special-effect-overload.

Cautiously enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus