Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
2.5/4
"Max Payne" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/02/2012
Burnt out cop Mark Wahlberg stumbles across a conspiracy involving a super-addictive drug that induces psychosis whilst investigating the case of his murdered family. Based on the Noir-inspired Rockstar game of the same name, Max Payne certainly looks the part. The fantastic visuals, although not in the same league as Sin City, capture the mood and style of the game perfectly, and the slo-mo gun battles that were the trademark of the game are very impressively staged. Unfortunately, as ever, the failings of the movie version can be laid squarely at the door of the script writer. Surely all he had to do was take the bare bones of the idea presented in the game's cut scenes and flesh out the character and story? But no, if anything the narrative we find here is even more skeletal. Max …
Rating of
2/4
Another Payne-ful Video Game Adaptation
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/06/2008
Max Payne has a lot in common with another video-turned-film that I recently saw: Hitman. Both have plenty of action, but suffer from lack of plot, questionable casting and do nothing to sway me that any video game needs to be turned into a movie ever again.
I still don't think Max Payne is the worst video game adaptation, nor do I think it's probably the worst movie this year. However, it does a lot more wrong than right, and won't convert either fans of the original video game or fans of action movies in general. There isn't enough action to satisfy those suffering from severe levels of testosterone, and there's not enough in common with the game to keep fanboys happy.
What you're left with is a murky story - depressing detective searching for the one man who got away after …
Rating of
1/4
A Cold Day in Hell
BryanFury - wrote on 10/26/2008
I was expecting a great deal from this videogame turned live action movie since I've been hooked playing it when it first came out on the pc console. And what a huge let down for a gamer like me to be seeing something that tarnishes the name Max Payne. Everything was a mess and not even as accurate as they should since they’re basing the movie from the game. The actor playing Max is not even close to resemble such an icon. In the game Max Payne is the ultimate tough guy with the mean husky voice and a thirst for blood like no one else. In the movie though he’s played by the biggest wuss actor there is. I believe that Mark Wahlberg was definitely the wrong choice to play the role of the title character. I know the guy is a former rapper and there’s no doubt he can handle a gun but …
Rating of
1/4
40%
CJP - wrote on 10/19/2008
Action: 2/3 + Comedy: 0/2 + Good vs Evil: 1/1 + Love/Sex: 1/1 + Special Effects: 0/1 + Plot: 0/1 +Music: 0/1 = 4/10 or 40%.
Director John Moore enjoys films that analyze politics in a roundabout fashion. He dumped the potential world ending antics of his remake of the Omen to focus on the political rise of the anti-christ within U.S. government, yet garnished good performances. Then came his remake of Flight of the Phoenix, which was sub-par to say the least. Now Moore is given the opportunity to show his stuff, to perhaps create a respectable video game film that has a preset plot, but is not a remake. Alas, he fails badly.
Nothing, not even one minute ounce of originality arises from this mess. He pulls Memento strings for the flashback sequences, the demon and spiritual side to …
Rating of
2.5/4
Great action and poor acting with some lame parts
Josh C - wrote on 10/19/2008
Let me say first, that I had never played this video game. I guess that matters because I generally liked this movie but the person I watched it with, a big fan of the game, hated it.
It isn't a great movie, but what are you expecting? The movie is based on a video game, and like most movies that are based on a game or comic the characters and their actions are a bit over the top. This one is no different.
The movie can be broken into two parts: the first hour (the good part) and the last 30 minutes (the crap part). The good part was good because the action was top-notch, the characters were interesting, the story unraveled nicely and Mark Wahlberg didn't annoy me. This started to change near the end when the story just started to go way over the top and the dialog of Mark …
