Max Payne (2008)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

John Moore

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Assassin | Police Detective | Hallucination | New York City

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Max Payne (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

100 min | 103 min (unrated version)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44716) | UK:15 (uncut) | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA (2008) | Hungary:16 (originial rating) | New Zealand:M | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:R16 (re-rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Norway:15 | South Africa:13V | Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | South Korea:15 | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | France:-12 | Argentina:16 | Peru:14 | Malaysia:18PL | Germany:18 (Extended Director's Cut on DVD) | Japan:PG-12 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | India:A | Iceland:14 (video rating) | Iceland:16 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bay Station - 64 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Abandon Entertainment

Trivia:

Olga Kurylenko's second movie based on a video game. First was Hitman (2007/I).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The NYPD forensic examiners' jackets have "CSI" on them. The NYPD forensics department is called the Crime Scene Unit, so the jackets should say "CSU".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Max Payne: I don't believe in Heaven. I believe in Pain. I believe in Fear. I believe in Death.

Movie Connections:

References Show Them No Mercy! (1935)

Soundtrack:

Oscar 1208

Can't believe that people actually liked this movie!

Who cares if the plot is different from the game. This being an adaptation it is to be expected. What i do want to see is that the essence of a game is captured. And without any hesitation I can say that is not the case. "Max Payne" the game was a tribute to classic John Woo movies starring "Chow Yan Fat" like "Hard Boiled" and "The Killer" which contained beautifully choreographed action scenes filmed in slow motion. Everyone who had seen one of those movies wanted to be the gun blazing "Chow Yan Fat". The game made that possible. The good plot is one of the key elements that provided the special ambiance that made the game stand out from other shooters. However it was not the reason why people played the game. And somehow a lot of people including the ones who made this awful movie missed that point. Bullet Time was the main character in Max Payne the game. Without it Max Payne would never had been as popular as it is now. In the movie there are maybe two and a half scenes where events are slowed down. I know that we are spoiled after "The Matrix Trilogy" and several other movies. But how can you exclude it like they did if it plays such an important role. And even if I can forgive them for not using the bullet time effect as much as I wanted to. Why not offering action scenes a la "Shoot em up". At least then I would have gotten a fraction of what this movie supposed to show. There are many other topics and flaws I could mention and discuss. But since the action element was the most important one I see no point in going deeper!