Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Suspend disbelief and enjoy!, January 26, 2009
The Blu-ray Disc includes the Theatrical Version and the Unrated, Extended Cut. We watched the 'Extended Cut' and were not disappointed. They spared no change in producing this film. If you want to see the best your Blu-ray system can deliver, then look no further. It was extraordinarily beautiful---almost 3D like. I'm left to think of some of the snow scenes and how I felt I could reach out and capture the giant snowflakes---how I reached for a throw, suddenly feeling a chill.
I thought Mark Wahlberg did a splendid job portraying Payne. I was immediately drawn into the storyline with him seeking those responsible for the brutal murders of his wife and baby and how he was willing to die to avenge their deaths. His grief and anger were palpable and justifiable.
I've enjoyed Max Payne video games and I don't feel that they did an injustice to the gaming fans, with this production. I could easily translate Mark Wahlberg's character and the setting, into that of the games.
I did have to suspend disbelief regarding the pharmaceutical company and, 'the drug.' This is why I took off one star. For example, every person who takes a hallucinogenic drug will not have the same hallucinations, so I was a little baffled by the big winged creatures that appeared to be everyone's' side-effect, but they looked really cool, so I almost forgive them.
Several have said they felt there were slow moments, but I have to say I was on the edge of my seat for the entire 103 minutes. Perhaps I would not have felt so positive about the movie, itself, if it had not been such a spectacular AV experience. But considering the complete package, I do recommend you give it a try. You might want to rent it first, before buying, since this one seems rather polarizing with folks either liking it a lot, or hating it.
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31 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
lipstick on a pig, February 4, 2009
- About Max Payne, on the day his family was murdered: "He was, maybe, ten minutes too late."
- About me, on the day I sat down to see this movie: "He was around one hour forty-three minutes too early."
Whoever Mark Wahlberg's agent is, dude needs to get dragged to the back of the woodshed. Wahlberg's film choices in '08 have not been what you'd call career friendly. Firstly, M. Night Shamalamadingdong screwed the pooch with THE HAPPENING, and then there's this skunker. I haven't ever played the MAX PAYNE video game, and, truth is, this cinematic adaptation is just the kind of thing which might put off potential players of the game. MAX PAYNE the movie is so @$#%! bad that I'm compelled to inject punctuation marks to emphasize how truly bad it is.
Wahlberg over the years has built up a rep for good acting; dude was even recently Oscar-nominated for his role in THE DEPARTED. He's not the worse thing in MAX PAYNE, but it sure doesn't help that he sleepwalks thru his role. Mostly, he rolls with one expression, which is this frozen, sorta pained look, as if his co-actors were always breaking wind around him. Wahlberg is NYPD Detective Max Payne, currently toiling away in the lowly Cold Case Department, pretty much relegated to "glorified file clerk" duties. Echoing the back story of the Punisher, the Crow and others of that dark ilk, Max's wife and baby had been murdered and Max won't rest until he gets his ungodly smite on. But the trail is cold, the clues are faint. Max has withdrawn into himself and has alienated pretty much everyone around him, including his one-time cop partner, who Max thinks hasn't done enough in solving the case.
Some headway is finally made when a connection is unearthed between the murder of Max's family and the recent slaying of a slinky party girl whom Max had the night before taken home. And when Max's partner is brutally whacked, Max himself becomes the primary suspect. Vaguely teaming up with Mona Sax (Mila Kunis), a Russian assassin and the vengeful sister of the slain girl, Max haunts New York's criminal underworld, tangling with fellow badges, a shady pharmaceutical corporation, and homocidal drugged-out thugsters. But what gets me is that, the whole time, Wahlberg carries that same vaguely distressed expression. What, did the film's catering make it Burrito Night every night?
The SIN CITY-inspired visuals look good, no doubt, and there are even several flashy bullet time sequences. But, in a way, that cheeses me ever more, because, seems to me, if the filmmakers can pay so much attention on the special effects and the slick cinematography, why couldn't they focus just a smidgen on the story, which is always the most crucial component? As it is, MAX PAYNE dies a slow, agonizing death, the final verdict rendering it a thing of style over substance, some lipstick on a pig, moonlight on a pile of poo.
All the way thru, the film persists in its bad choices. The pace is sluggish, the script is all over the place, and characters walk on and off the screen like you're supposed to already know who they are (and I guess you would if you've played the game). But, for too much time, I wasn't clear on exactly who that cat was being played by a doughy-looking Chris McDonnell (who I guess wreaked havoc on Burrito Nights). The camera several times makes it a point to briefly cut to McDonnell's nervous mug, but until his big office scene, not much detail is provided regarding this guy, leaving me vexed and musing who the hell is this doofus? And what was the deal with the old woman who happens to be CEO of that dubious pharmaceutical company? Just how deep was she into shady shenanigans? The film leaves us in the dark. It's stuff like that, which smacks of lack of attention to detail, which helps to torpedo the film.
Mila Kunis simply feels out of place. Worsely, she isn't given much to do, other than occasionally spit some Russian dialogue and saunter with flair in her leathers and big, big gun. Olga Kurylenko, the latest Bond girl, shows up for a nanosecond, but then I think her agent called with some pointed career advice. Hip hop artist Ludacris shows up and tries to sink into his role and get serious about acting, except that when your character's name is Lt. J. Bravura, who're you really foolin'? Beau Bridges is also here, probably having told his little brother "Whatever you can do, blah blah blah." But he's got nothing on Jeff.
The trailers cheated us into thinking that there actually may be an otherworldy element to this thing, in the form of creepy shadow angels skittering about. Except that they turn out to be mere side-effects of this experimental hallucinatory drug, which by the way happens to be at the crux of this whole mess. There's a dispirited, soul-numbing tone in MAX PAYNE which wore on me and put me in a bleak mood (I was this close to putting on black clothes and a beret, changing my name to Olaf, and composing poetry that neither rhymed nor made sense). For folks who relish wallowing in that sort of emotional scene, stick around until after the credits for one last scene which, O Unfathomable God, may be setting up for a possible sequel.
The DVD offers two versions of the film, the theatrical version and the unrated version. If you're wondering which one to see, hint: the theatrical version is SHORTER. To be fair, the last half hour does pick up the pace as the filmmakers finally shake themselves out of their stupor and realize that, hey, this is supposed to be an action thriller. So, that's something. But, for Mark Wahlberg's sake, THE BRAZILIAN JOB can't come fast enough.
Oh, and if you're gonna handcuff someone, clap them suckers on with their hands behind the back. That's like, Basic Apprehending 101, brother.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Max Payne (The first out of at least a sequel, I hope), March 31, 2009
Did you play the Max Payne computer games? Did you like the films "Sin City" and/or "300"? Are you male? Are you fond of dark brooding film noir? Are you European or influenced by European mythology? Religious? No? Then forget about this and stop reading this review, you won't like it and you'll waste a couple of hours in your, I have to say, strange life. If you did and/or are any (hopefully all) of the previous mentioned things and attributes, then reviewing this film is rather meaningless, since I can promise you that you'll love it! I've watched it several times now, and I love it. I never really understood why this film got such a relatively low rating in various media. Then again, having some 50 year old movie reviewer who's never played the games and abhors violence in movies judge whether this is a good film or not, seems pretty absurd to me.
Make sure you get the unrated extended edition, though, and preferably watch it in blu-ray on your HD television, so you get to enjoy this visually stunning film at its best. The bonus material is also very interesting, containing both a graphic novel reminiscent of the games about Michelle Payne and two rather extensive documentaries on the making of the film. The transition from game to film of course makes this something different from the games, but all in all I think they manage to capture that dark wintery feeling of one man's struggle against corporate evil steeped in references to north-Germanic mythology. Both the two Bridges and Wahlberg bring some great acting to the film, and Miss Kurylenko isn't exactly uneasy on the eyes.
Don't expect to watch the game before your eyes, but just let loose to this excellent action movie and enjoy it to the max. My girlfriend surprisingly enjoyed it as well, so I guess my male-flick theory isn't written in stone. Enjoy! 5 stars.
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