Review of Max Payne (2008) by Ethan O — 19 Oct 2010

2/4, C-, 40%, Rotten.

When it was announced that John Moore was going to direct this film, I knew it couldn't be good. He has a bad reputation for good reasons.

Here's a run-down of both the movie and the game and how they changed it. I've personally played and beaten the original Max Payne video game (and its successor) many times before this movie was even announced.

I was hoping for a completely faithful reincarnation. I was hoping for Sam Lake, the writer of both Max Payne games, to be the writer for this movie. My hopes died when I found out Beau Thorne was writing it instead. I was also really hoping that since the original Max Payne also had Sam Lake as the model of him, that he could act in the film. I was dead wrong there too. They chose Mark Wahlberg instead. And even though he's an accomplished actor, his face just doesn't fit Max Payne. It's not gritty enough. It's too perfect in many ways Max, both in the game and the film, are definitely not perfect. I strongly disagree with director Moore when he said he had to have Wahlberg in the film or it wasn't going to happen. If I was directing, I would paid Sam Lake a blank check to write and star in it, that's how much I would like to see him in it.

But while the film deviates from the video game in many ways, it does keep a few things intact. For example, there's a bad-ass scene with some thugs in the bathroom in the first level of the game. Max's family is slaughtered but this is not revealed until later in the film, where as the second scene of the game has it going on while it is happening. In the film Max doesn't even come home until after they are dead. A central aspect to both games of this series is the fact that Max blames himself for what happened to his family because he just wasn't there in time. This large psychological impact is what made the games in many ways unique - the dream sequences after being hit with the drug Valkyr, and would have enriched the film, was completely left out.

They changed Lisa Sax's name to Natasha Sax and had Max being blamed for her murder in the beginning. But there is no real connection in the film between the characters unlike Alex Balder's connection to Payne in the game after he gets blamed for that murder. So there is much less of an impact when she winds up dead. Also, while the game was mostly happening in almost real-time in the event of one-night, which makes it more anticipated, the film covers at least a week worth of daylight (and night time).

They did have one character in the film that looked and acted exactly the same. Kate Burton as Nicole Horne. She looked as if she was made to be in this film. But they made some white characters black in the film, such as Ludacris acting as Jim Bravura, and he's terrible at it, but while Amaury Nolasco was perfect in every way as Jack Lupino, I wish he was white so it would fit the game.

Some of the changes were just plain stupid. In the game Valkyr is green, while the film had a much-more calming and peaceful PG-13 blue color. And the music! The game's music is worthy to be on my iPhone, but I wouldn't have my iPhone go near the film's music. The game's music is gritty, dark, and memorable. The film's music is for a lack of a better word, crap. Marco Beltrami made almost the worst music possible for the game. Dark and dramatic but annoying and forgettable. If they simply replaced the film music with the game music I would rate this half a star higher.

In the game, the final scene is the beginning and makes you wonder how'd he end up there. In the film, the middle scene is the beginning and while it does make you wonder how'd he end up in the water like that, it doesn't do enough to pull me in like the game does.

The film is an hour and forty minutes long. I have a walkthrough of the game on my iPhone and it is four hours, forty-one minutes, and twenty-seven seconds long. That's three films combined into one, especially when you consider the fact that the game itself is split up to three equal parts. At the end of the game, Payne has his full revenge on Nicole Horne, and in the film, he only has revenge on the betrayer contact BB Hensley. The film ends on the note after the credits that Max and Mona will have revenge on Nicole, but we haven't heard a thing about a sequel since the two years this has been out.

But I can't say I wouldn't like to have a sequel. Sure, the film has nothing remarkable in it, especially the dark locations (too dark if you ask me), but all I can hope for is something better. Either that or an entire remake of the film franchise with fresh new faces that is actually true to the video game.

But until that happens, I'll continue to watch both Max Payne machinima films from my iPhone.