Max Payne (2008)

Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a police detective whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

Director:

John Moore

Writers:

Beau Thorne (screenplay), Sam Lake (video game by Remedy Entertainment and 3-D Realms Entertainment)

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Wahlberg	...	Max Payne
Mila Kunis	...	Mona Sax
Beau Bridges	...	BB Hensley
Ludacris	...	Jim Bravura (as Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges)
Chris O'Donnell	...	Jason Colvin
Donal Logue	...	Alex Balder
Amaury Nolasco	...	Jack Lupino
Kate Burton	...	Nicole Horne
Olga Kurylenko	...	Natasha
Rothaford Gray	...	Joe Salle
Joel Gordon	...	Owen Green
Jamie Hector	...	Lincoln Deneuf
Andrew Friedman	...	Trevor
Marianthi Evans	...	Michelle Payne
Nelly Furtado	...	Christa Balder

Storyline

Three years ago, NYPD detective Max Payne's wife and baby were murdered. Max gets himself transferred to the cold case office where he can continue searching for the killer who got away. He's a loner, but two people reach out to him during a fateful week: Alex, his ex-partner who may have found a clue, and BB, the security chief at the pharmaceutical company where Max's wife worked. Meanwhile, bodies are piling up, some as a result of a drug on the street that is highly addictive and, for many who take it, brings hideous hallucinations. When one of the bodies is a woman Payne was the last to see alive, her sister comes looking for him armed to the teeth; Max must move fast.

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Plot Keywords:

hallucination | new york city | drug | police detective | ex partner | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Twentieth Century Fox [France]

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English Russian Spanish

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maks Pejn

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,004,995 (UK) (14 November 2008)

Gross:

$40,687,294 (USA) (9 January 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Abandon Entertainment, Collision Entertainment, Depth Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 103 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The gun used by Max in the subway bathroom scene is the Taurus 4510 Judge. It can shoot either .45's or .410 shotgun shells.

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Goofs

When Max is about to leave his apartment in the morning, he shuts off the stove after a kettle starts whistling. The steaming item on the stove is an espresso pot, which does not whistle. A kettle is on the back burner, but it's not being used.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Max Payne: I don't believe in heaven. I believe in pain. I believe in fear. I believe in death.

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Crazy Credits

Stay watching after the credits for an extra scene, in which Max is reunited with Mona at a bar to be shown further developments involving Aesir, implying both have more to do (setting the scene for a possible sequel).

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Connections

References Show Them No Mercy! (1935)

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Soundtracks

"Forgotten Toy"
Written by Paul Stoney & Stephen French
Performed by Metsuo

User Reviews

oh my god what happened

No spoiler here - it doesn't need one, its already spoiled!

OK so I am biased, having played both games to completion several times over I loved them both - dark, gritty, twisted, film noir greatness. the games, as most will no doubt know, were almost a scripted story board that was ready to go as a movie - seriously it should have been easy - don't bother with script writers - the script was already there, the games are a screen play! even down to camera angles and lighting - it should have been a no brainer. I would love to know what would have happened in the production crew and actors had actually played the game, but alas I suspect they had a treatment to work with and they just ran with that - Mark was an awesome choice for the role of Max but there it stops.

My big question is if your going to make a film of a great game why risk alienating the original fan base by not sticking with the already existing story line and instead running with an "off the shelf" plot (that was on the shelf for a good reason - it sucked!) and just putting in the appropriate names.

So whats next? do we have to now watch as Hollywood works it's way through more games - maybe Halflife? or Deus Ex - both could make awesome films but if this is what they are going to do with them why bother.

Simply put if your going to make a movie from an award winning game that sold in the millions - STICK WITH THE f*&KING STORY! games designers spend a lot of time making great games with great stories - gamers spend a lot of time enjoying them where the hell does some half arsed hack of a director get off knocking out crap like this. Yes its a given you name a film after a game with this sort of following and it will sell seats in the cinema - but do a good job of it- stick to the story and it will be a blockbuster! - it can be done - they said that Lord of the Rings and The Watchmen couldn't be done - but they were and were fantastic - granted they aren't games but the principle is the same - you research the material of the story before you make the film

• get some of the original artists and creative producers involved

instead of knocking out crap like this, it's not fair on the fans - and thats who the film is made for surely - do it well and they will market the game via word of mouth far better than any amount of trailers and hype will ever do and that means more money for the producers, I really don't understand why you would do it any other way.