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 [jp] Twentieth Century Fox [fr]

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

Director John Moore has said that he tried to please fan requests as much and frequently as possible.

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Goofs

The film is set in New York. Yet when Max asks Alex "where are we going?" in Alex's car, a circular blue, white, and red sign is visible on a building in the background. It's a sign for the CAA (Canadian Automobile Association). A Canada Post delivery truck is parked in front of it. Alex's car also passes a TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) bus for the disabled.

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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

Spun-off from Max Payne (2001)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

From a die hard fan: this is a terrible film

I've had the pleasure of beating both Max Payne 1 and 2, so let us start this off by saying I like the games a great deal. At the very least I expected a dumb, entertaining action film. What I was shocked to find was a film so poorly made I am impressed that Mr. Moore actually put his name on the credits.

In the games Max is pushed over the edge and goes on a rampage of survival and revenge. He works his way up from person to person and every once in awhile, he has crazy dream sequences. Throughout there is a dry wit and extremely overdone noir dialog. It's so over the top, it's hard not to like.

I have no idea why the filmmakers chose not to follow that fairly basic plot setup because the replacement is absolutely horrific. The movie wobbles from scene to scene, alternating from making no sense at all to making Max and every other character in the movie look like complete morons.

What's further astounding is that the film can't even get the basics down. This is the worst directed film I've seen in over a year. It's pretty but the action is sparse and boring. Conversations are so badly shot it's no wonder that the whole theater was laughing at most of the scenes. At least one actor turns in a performance so stiff he should be declared legally dead.

And as for the 'staying true to the game' part? Well, they had some slow motion shots, but beyond that, all the style, humor, and over the top action is missing.

Alright, I'm done. I still can't believe the film was that bad. Oy!