Max Payne (2008)

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:

Ex Partner | Drug | New York City | Death | Hallucination

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Dec. 19

6:15 PM

MAX

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)
Max Payne (Germany) [de]
Max Payne (Greece) [el]
Max Payne (Argentina) [es]
Max Payne (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

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 (Ontario) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | 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:

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

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Natasha Sax (Olga Kurylenko) is in Max's bed she has a sheet covering all the way down to her undergarments. On the next shot the sheet is lifted revealing her abdomen.

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 The Public Enemy (1931)

Soundtrack:

Room 405

Murky and jumbled but still a decent action movie

I have never played the Max Payne games, so I have no idea if the movie was faithful to its origins. I've heard some people say that it was and others say it wasn't. But in any case, this really wasn't as bad as everyone seems to think. No, there wasn't as much action as you might get in a "Transporter" movie, but that didn't really bother me because sometimes I like movies that have a little more thought behind them. There were still some really awesome action sequences though and it was definitely beautifully shot. The atmosphere that they created with the lighting was great.

However, there were still some things that I didn't like about this movie and that they could have done better. First, most of it, especially the beginning, seemed very jumbled and hard to understand. The writing and the editing were sub-par. Second, and this is probably due to the bad writing and editing, you never really connect with any of the characters and so you can never really feel any overwhelming emotion about their situation. The whole thing seemed slightly hollow and empty, as if the writer and director themselves were not quite sure what they were trying to get at. Third, the acting sucked big time in some scenes. It wasn't horrible throughout the whole movie, but it still left much to be desired. Fourth, there were many things in the story that weren't fully explained, which only contributed to the hollow, confused feeling of the entire movie.

So, overall, it is not a bad film, but I was slightly disappointed. It really could have been an amazing movie, and I blame the writer and editor for almost completely ruining it. The only thing that saves it is the few awesome action scenes and the cinematography. But please don't believe anyone that says it one of the worst movies ever because it's not. It's just not as good as it should have been.

7.5/10