Max Payne is a video game series, soon to be a trilogy, that first exploded in 2001. It was an instant hit with fans and critics, even winning a BAFTA for Best PC Game of 2001. It follows an undercover DEA Agent left out in the cold, both literally and figuratively, during a severe winter storm, having been framed for the murder of his handler, as he tracks down the source behind a designer drug that was the cause of his wife and daughter's brutal murder. The story is heavily influenced in equal parts by Norse mythology, Hong Kong action flicks and hardboiled/noir/pulp fiction, and is notable for innovations in game play, notably Bullet Time, at the time recently made popular by The Matrix, an aspect copied but not quite duplicated in several games, as well as the use of comic book strips in lieu of the more traditional cinematic cutscenes.
Max Payne was adapted for the big screen in 2008. VGMs in general have a poor record, which was bad enough, but 20th Century Fox was producing. It never stood a chance. The Mark Wahlberg feature was critically panned, citing poor pacing, lack of character development and interesting dialogue and an overabundance of characters. It was even more reviled by the fans, who in addition to the preceding disliked the nixing of popular characters, lack of action and the movie as a whole being produced with a PG-13 rating in mind despite the games’ signature stylized violence.
Fox seems to be on a reboot kick recently, which included Fox’s prior VGM Hitman, so another Max Payne movie may still be in the cards, or maybe not. Maybe it will be more of the same, or maybe not.
Anyway, you know….
Max Payne
Formerly a Robbery-Homicide detective stationed in Hell's Kitchen. His idyllic life living the American dream was shattered when drug addicts invade his home in his absence and murder his wife and newborn daughter.
Max is an interesting character to cast. In the first game he was modeled after the game’s main writer Sam Lake, who bears a strong resemblance to actors Timothy Olyphant, Josh Duhmall and Johnny Knoxville. By the second game, however, he adopts the visage of soap opera actor Timothy Gibbs. So which one should be followed?
Well… None, actually. Neither was a defining factor, as Payne is much more associated with his voice, heard throughout the game predominately as he provides charmingly over the top narration rife with metaphors, as any hardboiled detective worth his salt does. The actor would require an approximate similarity, to be sure, but nothing beyond being of the same age, build and ethnicity, but he’d have to be able to provide voice narration reminiscent of the distinct, gravely voice overs provided by James McCaffrey.
Alex Balder
The DEA liaison to the NYPD and a close, personal friend of Max. He becomes the lead agent in charge of the Valkyr case.
BB
Another DEA Agent involved in the Valkyr investigation.
Vinnie Gognitti
A sniveling mid-level lieutenant in the Punchinello crime family.
Jack Lupino
A deranged copregime in the Punchinello crime family, driven mad by his drug habit.
Angelo Punchinello
The sadistic boss of the Punchinello crime family.
Ever seen Bound? You really aught to.
Nicole Horne
A Pharmaceuticals magnate with friends in places high and low.
Mona Sax
A femme fatale gun-for-hire and Angelo Punchinello’s sister in law.
Vladimir Lem
Boss of the New York Russian mob. In a departure from other portrayals of Russian gangsters, Lem is presented as a suave, sophisticated and honorable ally who just happens to deal arms for a living.
Alfred Woden
A shadowy politician who is powerful even for a senator.
NYPD Dep. Chief Jim Bravura
A tough police force honcho in pursuit of Payne, who he believes to be a fugitive murderer. The character shares a similarity to Commissioner Gordon as he appeared in Tim Burton’s original Batman, where he was portrayed by Pat Hingle.
A little type casting never hurt anyone.
Michelle Payne
Max's late wife, an Assistant District Attorney.
Snyder hasn't made a movie I liked yet, but I can see that what he lacks in nuance and subtlety, he makes up for in style, which is what Max Payne is about.