Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Brent M Ward I finished watching Max Payne last night after having to start and stop it a couple of times due to other things being much more important than watching it. Needless to say, I think I understand why Mark Wahlberg's face looked like it did throughout the movie...he was in pain too.Of course, this movie has been out for 9 years now...so why watch it now...I think mostly it was because I had it on my long list, and finally had a few minutes here and there to waste. I'm a gamer, and Max Payne (as well as it's shorter sequel Max Payne 2) stand out for me as milestones in my gaming history. The presentation and development of Max's character and backstory were top-notch and the ending was gratifying, not to mention all of the action in between. Based on Hollywood's game adaption history, I wasn't expecting much at all from this, although Wahlberg is one of my favorite go-to actors when I just want to see good action. Wahlberg tries really hard to bring Max's grit, pain, and determination to the screen, but he just never quite captures it. Most of the movie he tries pulling a Stallone in First Blood, rarely speaking, and when he does, the dialogue is terse and unemotional. Mila Kunis tries really hard to come off as a sexy but streetwise woman with a rough edge but all I kept waiting for was for her to either start talking about Jim Beam or cracking a joke. Trying to not compare her to the Mona in the game was more difficult than Wahlberg as Max.Beau Bridges...well, I'm not even going there. I think the only reason he still gets acting jobs is because of who his dad was. Ludicrous's portrayal as Lt Bravura was laughable to say the least...and Chris O'Donnell's Jason Colvin...he must have needed mortgage money at the time (it was before NCIS:LA...).The effects are so-so, and the "homage" to bullet-time was pretty ludicrous...you'll see what I mean when it happens. I just had to roll my eyes.I had to force myself to watch this because I'm not going to let a movie beat me. I mean, if I can sit through Leonard Part 6, I can handle anything right?

Nicolas F. Costoglou Max Payne is my second favourite Video game adaption after "Prince of Persia the Sand of Time".The movie is a clear and effective homage to the Noir-Thrillers of the 30's-50's in every aspect and that's what makes the movie great for me. This film doesn't rely on action sequences rather than telling a intriguing Thriller-story with a few very well handled action sequences, which are all unique and different.This is my favourite performance by Mark Wahlberg and that's saying something, because a year prior he showed us his worst performance in the weird "The Happening". He shows great subtle emotions and you feel for him the whole way through because you understand him. All the other actors also do a fairly well job, even Mila Kunis who is believable in one of her first serious roles.One of the reasons i hold this movie in such high regards is also the technical aspect of it. The look is beautiful and the camera-work and editing is great. It succeeds in capturing the style and tone of a real Noir-Thrillers, but with a modern take. Dark contrasts and long shadows, also the use of color in this movie is (while slightly on-the-nose) really well handled. Also the visual effects are really well done, most of all when people take the Valkyr-drug it's sheer amazing at times.The score by Marco Beltrami is some of his best work, and i'm a real fan of this composer for a long time.The story is slightly changed from the video game to make it work on it's own and so that it's surprising even for fans, and i appreciate it (being a fan of the games myself).I'm also happy they used Max monologues just at the start and the finish of the movie, because even in the game it's sometimes a bit to over-depressive and metaphorical at times.All in all i enjoy the movie very much, it even introduced me to the games, and even after playing both i haven't changed my mind at all... (For the record: I talk only about the Director's Cut, the other version really is some bull**** ;) )

Adam Foidart Just when you thought video game movies couldn't get even worse, here comes the pain! "Max Payne" that is. It's a dull, clichéd detective story that masquerades as a supernatural film in order to sucker you in. The story follows Max Payne, a detective who had a loving wife and family, but lost it all one night when intruders came into his house and murdered them while he was away at work. Ten minutes earlier and he could have saved them so of course, he has become a shadow of his former self, only dealing with cold cases and generally walking around brooding. When a girl who unsuccessfully tries to seduce him turns up dead, he is suspected of being the killer and is forced to go on the run. The killer, or killers appear to be connected to a narcotic drug "Valkyr", who in turn appears to be connected to his wife. Was it all a senseless murder after all, or a big conspiracy? It's up to this super sleuth to figure it out, along with the sister of the dead girl, Mona (Mila Kunis).This really feels like a dusty old detective story script that was re-purposed to be a video game movie. The plot, concerning Mark Walhberg, walking around the crime-ridden streets brooding constantly is a tremendous bore. Suspect number 1 for this crime is the director, who makes none of the characters remotely interesting. Max Payne is about as emotionally responsive as a T-800, except constantly depressed. During the whole film he doesn't crack a single smile and always appears on the verge of tears. He's not even interested in Olga Kurylenko (who was in another bad video game movie I saw, "Hitman"). She strips down, completely naked and tries to seduce him. He looks at her like she's a blank wall. He doesn't even get excited when he's gunning down the bad guys or running away from danger. Even getting shot in the arm barely gets a rouse out of Max so you cannot connect with this character, no matter how tragic his back story is. Mila Kunis doesn't fare much better. Her character is basically just angry at the fact that her sister was murdered. That's it. She tags along with Max Payne, sometimes. Mostly she just disappears from the movie. Our villains are completely bland as well. Amaury Nolasco plays a 'roided up assassin that is really just a generic serial killer. Believe me, even that sentence makes it sound more interesting than it actually is. Even the overall mystery of who killed Max Payne's wife and child is really easy to figure out from the get-go (due to the overuse of logos on the victims and items related to the case) and once you do figure it out, you're checking your watch hoping the running time is almost over. No such luck."But wait a minute!" you might be saying "I saw the trailer for this movie and it looked really cool! There were these creepy angels flying around, rooftops exploding into scenes taken straight out of hell, and I even saw a clip where the people investigating a murder said that the wounds couldn't have been caused by anything human!" To you, I'm sorry to say that you have been terribly misled. You see; someone at the head of the studio watched this movie and realized how boring it all was. They knew that none of the characters would entice you in the least to check it out, so they threw in a bunch of clips of the characters on drugs having hallucinations. To clarify, whenever people use the Valkyr drug, they start having these visions of angels and of hell. At first, you don't know this but it becomes obvious that every scene where you hear fluttering wings or shadows over a character that is screaming or running away in panic is just a bunch of hallucinations. The film teases with the idea that the drug actually causes people to see invisible creatures and that the murders are being causes by these angelic beings, but it is not the case. The wounds that "couldn't have been caused by a human" are, in fact caused by a human and there are no hidden mystical creatures in this movie.At least with some bad video game movies, like "Resident Evil", "Super Mario Brothers" or even "Bloodrayne" the movie sucks, but there are some interesting action scenes and maybe a couple of cool creatures or interesting monsters to make the time pass by. It really isn't the case here. Yeah there are some shootouts, but the climactic battles are about as interesting as your average bed pillow and I struggle to call a bunch of hallucinations "cool creatures". They could have been edited out of the movie completely and not affected the plot in the least.Everything about this movie screams "bad direction", particularly considering the stars, which have proved themselves to be competent actors before. You can do so much better than "Max Payne", which by the way, sets itself up for a sequel at the end of the credits (a sequel that thankfully will never come to pass). Just don't watch it. It sucks, it's even worse than you've heard. (On DVD, April 25, 2014)

MoviesReviews101 Story: Having never played the games or even knowing anything about the games I could really see this fresh as an action fan. I was expecting some form of supernatural side to the story but I was wrong. It is just a revenge thriller that has lots of action and very little dialogue. Most of the support characters have very little development and are each only used to pass on a small part of the story. In the end as a standalone action film it is switch the mind of acceptable. (6/10)Actor Review: Mark Wahlberg – Max Payne the determined cop who wants to truth who ends up getting caught up in something bigger than he could have ever imagined. Solid from Mark but the fans of the games will dislike what he does to the character. (7/10)maxActor Review: Mila Kunis – Mona from the more underworld side of the city she ends up teaming up with Max to take down the people responsible for the death of their loved ones. I think this was a bit too early in her career, she looks a little bit out of place, and maybe she could return for a sequel and use what she has learned. (4/10)milaActor Review: Beau Bridges – BB Hensley friend of Max who was also good friends with his wife, he tries to help but ultimately is the guy responsible for everything that has driven Max. Good but nothing special performance. (6/10)Actor Review: Ludicrous – Jim the internal affairs officer trying to figure out what the corruption in the Police could change how they look at crimes being committed in the town. Another guy who was in a role that is hard to believe too early in his acting career, he tries but it just doesn't quite some off for him. (5/10)ludicrusActor Review: Chris O'Donnell – Jason a former work colleague of Max's wife, knows more than he is letting on. Good supporting role that is good use for information only. (5/10)Actor Review: Donal Logue – Alex ex-partner who tries to reconnect after discovering a new clue about Max's wife's murder. Only a small role but the look of a desperate friend works well. (6/10)Actor Review: Amaury Nolasco – Jack a man that spends a lot of time watching what is going on with Max and Mona, but he does have a motive, but we never know what he final motive is. Good supporting role used well to create a target for Max. (6/10)amruayDirector Review: John Moore – Simple direction used to create plenty of over the top action for the more casual fan to enjoy. (6/10)Action: Plenty of gun fights throughout, I really don't know how many bullets they must have used. (9/10)Crime: Simple crime aspects used nothing truly original though. (6/10)Thriller: Tries to pull of some thrills but doesn't really succeed. (6/10)Special Effects: Good special effects for the hallucination scenes and gun battles. (9/10)Believability: No (0/10)Chances of Tears: No (0/10)Settings: Dark settings used to create a very dark world similar to the story they are in. (8/10)Suggestion: This is really one to try I can't say it is very original and like most video game films isn't the most popular compared to the games. (Try It)Best Part: Gun rights.Worst Part: poor support character development.Action Scene Of The Film: The office gun battleOscar Chances: NoChances of Sequel: Do to the poor box office it would be a no.Overall: Video Game Action, You Know What You Are Getting