Max Payne (Mark Walhberg, Mila Kunis, Ludacris), is, as we all know, a high-budget movie based on the 2001 videogame with the same name. The video game had an excellent story, very good acting, and a good core gameplay. The movie, on the other hand, is something completely different all together.
While Mark Wahlberg portraits Detective Payne pleasingly, it’s just not the same character anymore. Mila Kunis actually put on a good performance, but Mona Sax wasn’t as featured in the game as she is in the movie, so i’m not sure what to think.
The key point of slaughtering this movie, however, is Ludacris. Chief Bravura was a 50-ish year old chubby fella with glasses in the game. This explains how Ludacris trashed that part. While his performance wansn’t half-bad, it just felt SO GODDAMN WRONG!
And so my hack and slash begins. Max Payne could’ve worked if the film was a standalone project, not related to the game at all. However, since it was, it failed in… well, basically every aspect it could. Fox decided to screw up the original story and concept, and Max’s wive wasn’t killed by the same persons as in the game. To be honest, I didn’t see the killer coming, but it’s not strange, seeing as the character wasn’t even featured in the game.
Main plot characters were left out, key scenes weren’t included at all, and Mona Sax played a huge role. Need I say more?
I probably don’t, but I will anyways.
The film opened with a scene that’s shown again much later in the film, so the first half or so is a flashback, so to speak. While it works, it’s still not true to the material. Hell, they could’ve called the movie Duke Nukem instead, and it would be just as relevant. Valkyr is just as centered as it was in the game, but is now related to the military, and those who can’t handle it, see dark angels(valkyries) coming to get them from the shadows. Now, I get the metafor they’re making, it just doesn’t make sense, and would’ve been equally good, if not better without them.
You know what? I’m gonna stop now. I’ll give a nice little closing line though;
If you’ve played through Max Payne or PC or consoles, and liked the story in it, STAY THE HELL AWAY from the movie. It’s untrue to the material, it flipped the story completely the wrong way, and it had LUDACRIS.
’nuff said.
I give it 2/10. I’d give it a 1/10, but it had it’s points. Mainly the opening title and Mila Kunis looked hot.
Slightly unrelated, but Payne and Redemption looked like it had WAY more potential. Way to go by shutting them down, FOX.
