MAX PAYNE

 

Max Payne is a movie loosely based on the video game of the same name and stars rapper-turned-underwear-model-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg as the title character. In the film, Max Payne is a cop in search of his family's murderers and winds up stepping on a lot of toes in the process. Along the way, he joins forces with a female assassin named Mona played by Mila Kunis (of That '70 Shows and Family Guy fame) in search of not only the killer of Max's family but of Mona's sister who was seemingly murdered by the same person (and I say "seemingly" because that point gets rather murky, at least for me, while watching this flick). There's also seemingly a supernatural bent to the film with the appearance of demon-like creatures who are referred to as Valkyries even though Valkyries are female figures who decide which fallen warriors go to the sacred place of Valhalla where hallowed warriors go after they die. Anyway, even said supernatural bent is put into question later on in the film when the viewer is apparently made to wonder if the demon-like creatures are real or just drug-induced hallucinations. Anyway, as you've probably already figured out by now, the plot is hardly anything new as it's something moviegoers have seen countless times before: loner cop seeks vengeance for his murdered family. The Mila Kunis assassin character isn't fleshed out enough for my taste as she's not in very much of the film and is seemingly pretty much there to provide the obligatory eye candy, though she's in the film about as much as Bill O'Reilly's favorite rapper Ludacris who plays an internal affairs officer who investigates Payne when his former partner is murdered. And the Matrix-style special effects--even though Max Payne was released about ten years after the rather overrated Matrix flick came out--really doesn't help to the overall ambience of the film. In short, Max Payne is certainly not the greatest action film ever released, though it's certainly not the worst I've seen either. The shootout scenes are pretty decent and are sure to satisfy even the most hardcore action flick fan (even with the Matrix-esque special effects). I suggest watching this flick on a slow night when there's nothing else "good" on. As for how the film differs from the game, since I'm not much of a gamer myself, I can't say, so don't ask! A sidenote: I would suggest waiting for the credits to end as it helps tell a crucial part of the film--at least for me--as to what happened to Mila's character as that question is left open during the film as she goes to aid Max in his final shootout with his family's actual murderer--and I, of course, won't reveal who that is--and whether or not she lives. I didn't wait till the end credits were over and I was left wondering if her character survived or not (and I, of course, won't reveal that either).