Review: Not so 'Payne'-ful
Alesha Bailey / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 10/24/08 Section: The Verge
3 of 5 stars
"Max Payne" is based on the video game designed for PC, Playstation 2, Xbox and Game Boy. Mark Wahlberg stars as Max Payne, the DEA agent who gets revenge by going after the fiends who murdered his wife and infant child.
Mila Kunis plays Mona Sax, the assassin who joins Payne in his quest in order to avenge her sister's death - the victim involved in the same murder conspiracy.
Other roles include Beau Bridges, who plays corporate businessman BB Hensley, and Chris Bridges (aka Ludacris) as Lt. Jim Bravura.
Like the video game, the movie is about a man on a mission: to avenge the loss of his family; though the plot of this story is much more dramatic than the movie itself.
The main feature that the movie lacked was the suspense that would have had the audience members holding onto the edges of their seats, which is a key factor to have in any action movie.
The spaces between the scenes were pretty dry and flat since there's a lack of anticipation as to what will happen next.
There was an overall impressive result of the blue and gray tints of the scenes, with depressing weather consisting of rain or snow to add to the bleak city setting.
To enhance the dramatics of the film, the screen would turn vibrant red whenever extreme violence occurred and pale yellow with the flashbacks of Payne's wife and child.
A humanistic approach was given in the wife/child reminiscing scenes, which caused the audience to root for Payne to get back at the ones who have wronged him.
The transitions between the scenes were somewhat predictable with the whole conspiracy theory involving the story. It's not necessarily a game of what will happen next since events in the movie are similar to past action movies.
When the resolutions to the murder conspiracy come to light, they're not very shocking - even to anyone who hasn't played the game before.
The use of bullet time, or slow motion occurring during shootouts, was in the movie as well as a special feature in the game, but there was only one scene where bullet time was absolutely necessary and, honestly, pretty cool-looking.
The climax did contain the senseless explosions, gunfire, and high intensity of Payne's survival, which finally gave the on-edge excitement that the entire movie so readily deserved.
For Max Payne, it's best to stick with the video game.
"Max Payne" is based on the video game designed for PC, Playstation 2, Xbox and Game Boy. Mark Wahlberg stars as Max Payne, the DEA agent who gets revenge by going after the fiends who murdered his wife and infant child.
Mila Kunis plays Mona Sax, the assassin who joins Payne in his quest in order to avenge her sister's death - the victim involved in the same murder conspiracy.
Other roles include Beau Bridges, who plays corporate businessman BB Hensley, and Chris Bridges (aka Ludacris) as Lt. Jim Bravura.
Like the video game, the movie is about a man on a mission: to avenge the loss of his family; though the plot of this story is much more dramatic than the movie itself.
The main feature that the movie lacked was the suspense that would have had the audience members holding onto the edges of their seats, which is a key factor to have in any action movie.
The spaces between the scenes were pretty dry and flat since there's a lack of anticipation as to what will happen next.
There was an overall impressive result of the blue and gray tints of the scenes, with depressing weather consisting of rain or snow to add to the bleak city setting.
To enhance the dramatics of the film, the screen would turn vibrant red whenever extreme violence occurred and pale yellow with the flashbacks of Payne's wife and child.
A humanistic approach was given in the wife/child reminiscing scenes, which caused the audience to root for Payne to get back at the ones who have wronged him.
The transitions between the scenes were somewhat predictable with the whole conspiracy theory involving the story. It's not necessarily a game of what will happen next since events in the movie are similar to past action movies.
When the resolutions to the murder conspiracy come to light, they're not very shocking - even to anyone who hasn't played the game before.
The use of bullet time, or slow motion occurring during shootouts, was in the movie as well as a special feature in the game, but there was only one scene where bullet time was absolutely necessary and, honestly, pretty cool-looking.
The climax did contain the senseless explosions, gunfire, and high intensity of Payne's survival, which finally gave the on-edge excitement that the entire movie so readily deserved.
For Max Payne, it's best to stick with the video game.
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