It would be four years this fall since we bared witness to one of the most disappointing adaptions ever to hit the big screen. Okay, lets rewind the clock 11 years, shall we? In 2001, a groundbreaking video game named Max Payne hit the shelves and immediately became an instant hit. I remember picking it up; it was and always will be a [frick]ing awesome game. The game play was spectacular; you moved through a snowy, dark run down part of New York City around Christmas time,killing off junkies, thugs, working your way up the ladder to uncover a hidden, disturbing truth that has put you (Max Payne) in jeapoardy. This game is pretty graphic, whenever you shoot a thug dead, there's a pretty hefty batch of blood left behind. That's the thing about older video games; they seem more violent and more graphic than the ones of today. But this review isn't about the game, this is about the game. So lets begin shall we?
1. -Miscasting.
After playing the game countless times over the years, I always wondered who would play the role of Max if they ever decide to make a movie out of it. Back then, I really couldn't think of a guy. All the good ones were taken by other roles and if they were thrown into the mix, it would have felt forced and uneven. That's how I felt about Mark Walhberg. I'll admit-when I saw the trailer, I was overzealous. My favorite video game (under Halo 1) was being made into a movie. Now video games that were made into movies have had a long track record of being complete and downright shit, with the exception of Hitman. That was a good movie. I wasn't worried with Max Payne, since I knew he film makers would have a lot to go with considering the source material. The trailer was edited beautifully; it brilliantly displayed the movie's amazing visuals and it gave off the sense that the motion picture would do the game justice. So my anticipation for that movie was the largest I've ever had for a movie in years.
Then I saw the movie. What. The. [frick].
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Okay the element in the movie I was most curious over was this: Could Marky-Mark pull off Max Payne? Through the trailers it looked like Walhberg looked like Max Payne, but he didn't feel like Max. Then movie proved that Mark was definitely the wrong choice for the movie. I mean, he's a solid actor and all, but he's no Max Payne. In the game, which had a very well crafted and deep story to it, painted a picture of an extremely damaged man with one goal: get to the bottom of the people behind his wife's murder and why he was set up. The film makers did a decent job of making him look like Max Payne, but his performance was far from the actual character. The whole time if felt like it was generic Mark Wahlberg. From the first ten minutes of the film you realize that he is a total miscast (if you ever played the game that is). There's no sense of a damaged human behind within his character at all, in fact there's little to none character to Max in this movie, which is one of its huge flaws. The story from the game was all character based, you really got to know the main character and you rooted for him the whole way. In the movie, Mark's generic performance made you rethink your life.
2 -The Max Painful story
If you want to sit back, relax, and enjoy a video game that has a phenomenal gameplay/storyline to it, then Max Payne should probably be your #1 choice. From the outside, Max Payne looks like just another generic revenge cop thriller. But if you take the time to examine it, you'll find out that its much, much more than that. It tells the story of a DEA agent that infiltrates a New York mob that happens to be selling a new, lethal synthetic drug on the streets. That leads him to the mob's leader Jack Lapino, whom Max is certain is the man whom killed his wife and infant child just three years earlier. But afterwards, Max finds out that there's more to the story than just drugs. After killing Jack Lapino in his hideout, Max comes face to face with a knock out femme fatal- Mona Sax. She's basically the Catwoman of the story; she toys with his emotions. At first she seems to be the girl who goes along with the hero, but quickly betrays him a few times. At first Max can't stand Mona, but through a various near death experiences, he falls in love with her. The story isn't just about a Man trying to unlock a case, no...its much more than that. It takes you inside his mind, his nightmares, his hallucinations. There are actually several different levels where you are inside his mind, maneuvering around his inner demons. I loved that element, something that not many other games have been able to pull off. Kudos to them.
Now onto the movie's perspective. I get it if the filmmakers wanted to change a few things up for the sake of running length, but come on! The movie is so far off from its source material that its difficult to even call it Max Payne in the first place. Jack Lapino's role in the movie is essentially minor. I mean how could you take one of the biggest characters in the game and not make him a factor in the movie at all? Shit don't make sense. And ***SPOILER ALERT*** BB was not the man who had Max's family killed. It was Nicole Horne, since she didn't like the fact that Max's wife was uncovering the mystery behind it all. In the movie, BB was the man who was behind it all. This is what primarily doesn't make sense to me; in both the game and the movie, BB does betray Max. But in the game, its more of a shocker. In the movie...you kinda see it coming. In the game, BB wasn't the mastermind behind it all; he was more of a pawn. But they completely changed that in the movie. In fact, that money grubbing whore Nicole Horne was a minor factor too. There was absolutely no need to change it whatsoever. If the filmmakers would have stuck close to their source material, this movie would have been one hell of a ride. Also, another thing worth mentioning...in the game the portrayal of the killer synthetic drug was a dark, disturbing and most of all a mystery. The junkies you encounter are creepy as hell; talking to themselves, keep refearing to the devil and other demons etc. In the movie its laughably bad. The junkies come off as campy drug users, with over the top performances. And I never really understood the emphasis on the demons and angels in the film. It had little to nothing to do with anything in the game so why even bother throwing it in there? And lastly, Max Payne's monologue. In the game, that as THE biggest part. In the movie, it was a non factor. You really didn't get to know the character at all.
3- The PG-13 Rating; running time
When I first heard that Max Payne was going to be rated pg-13 I was extremely pissed. I was even more angry over the fact that the film was under two hours in length. The Max Payne story should be at least 2 hours and 40 minutes total. Not 100 whimsy minutes. The story needs time to unfold, time to allow the tragedy to elapse, the myseteries to be uncovered, and the climax to settle in. But since the movie didn't do that, I had to write this review. Pitiful. I understand that some studios water down certain movies to make it appealing for younger audiences and draw in more $$$ but there was no need for that in Max Payne. If done correctly, Max Payne would have engrossed 150 million domestically in my opinion. Fans would have gone regardless of the rating, but many were turned off by the studio's shit marketing up to the movie's release date.For instance, in the game, when you shot someone, there would be a huge shower and spray of blood. In the movie, Max brutally murders people, but its edited or cut off in certain places so you don't see the gory sadistic ways the thugs are killed. Part of the game was showing how dark and gory Max's adventure was. By taking that out, the movie loses touch; it loses its focus.
In conclusion, Max Payne was a disappointing mess. It had so much potential riding on it and it disappointed so many people. It painted a picture of an intense, dark, brutal cop thriller that would have made the game's original makers proud. But what we got was a watered down generic cop movie that strayed very far from its source material. Mark Wahlberg was a huge miscast, some important characters from the original story were demoted to extended cameos, and the final conclusion kills this already dead movie. Its not complete dogshit, I could name dozens of movies worse than it. The reason I don't think its completey garbage is because admist all the bad things about this movie, they got a few things right, and I was actually kinda pleased over that.
What they got right:
The dark atmosphere-its a visually stunning movie no doubt; the way it was filmed was almost exactly the way I envisioned it.
Mila Kunis-even though her character was slightly used wrong, i felt that she did a pretty good job as Mona sax.
that's about it. Its only two things, but they do bump the grade up one notch. The unrated edition is better, but not by much. I wouldn't reccomend either of them.
***BOTTOM LINE***
While it has some stunning visuals, Max Payne is a boring misguiding film that is far too short and not violent enough considering its source material. If you played the game, you will hate it. If you haven't, well you'll think its alright.
My grade:
C-
Unrated edition grade:
C
Did you see Max Payne? What did ya think about it? Comment, let me know!