Movie Review:  Max Payne (2008)

Director:  John Moore

Cast:  Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris O’Donnell, Ludacris

Plot:  Loosely based on the 2001 video game by the same name, the movie follows the exploits of ex-DEA agent Max Payne who’s family was murdered by junkies high on a new designer drug called “V.”  However, one of them got away, and Max has been looking for clues ever since.  During his off-hours investigation, he runs into a girl that gets murdered, and he’s the prime suspect (as she stole his wallet).  This somehow uncovers clues to his wife’s murder that had previously been unexplored, and the murder of his ex-partner.  Now Max is running against the clock to find out who murdered his wife, who’s pushing this drug out onto the streets, and get his revenge.

I had a fear about this movie that was very justified, and that is that Hollywood would deviate from the source material.  Unlike most video games, Max Payne had a great story as a game, and paid homage to a lot of classic action flicks (John Woo’s Hard Boiled, for example).  The game was fun, but it also had a compelling story about undercover NYC officer Max Payne who was in with the mob trying to stop V from being distributed.  There was a lot of stylized action, bullet time elements, and crazy narration that made you enjoy the character.  Sadly, none of these were translated over into the movie.

The Game:  Max Payne witnessed the murder of his wife and daughter at the hands of drug addicts strung out on a new designer drug called “V”.  Two years later, Max is working undercover deep within the mob to find out where the drug is coming from, and stop it.  Only two other people know that he was ever a cop, and when he goes to see one of them late one night in a subway bathroom, he finds his contact has been killed and the mob has been tipped off that Max is a cop.  Now running against the clock, dodging cops and mobsters and bullets from both sides, Max has to clear his name, find out who killed his partner, and discover the conspiracy behind the V distribution. 

posted by TrevorAMueller  # 1:13 PM