Review of Max Payne (2008) by Kay R — 17 Aug 2010

If director John Moore?s intention was to drain the color away from Max Payne such to make the movie feel absolutely lifeless, he certainly succeeded. It is not just the photography of the thriller that lends itself to being monochrome?it is also the script, performances, and action. This colorless ?look? is supposed to portray Payne?s world as a dark underworld of nefarious characters?one in which a mythic antihero can do battle with his own otherworldly visions. But the whole shebang proves so one-note that these visions become a moviegoer?s nightmare.

In this not-yet-rated thriller, an undercover DEA agent (Wahlberg) is framed for the murder of a fellow agent and seeks revenge for the drug-tied mob slayings of his wife and child.

At every turn, the audience already knows what is lurking around the corner. Just because the film was based on a hugely popular interactive video game does not mean that the plot has to unfold like one?but Max Payne does, ad nauseam. Because the game?s basic story was so paper thin, the plot lends itself to stealing from a lot of other movies. The plot points do no come with even a smidgen of surprise. In fact, anyone who has ever seen their share of ?80s and ?90s action flicks can see such points coming from a mile away. Worse, so much of the film, from the almost black and white palette to the valkerie-like winged creatures that prey on hallucinating druggies, looks like it has been culmed from Constantine?s leftovers.

Bottom line: Payne in the ass.