Mark Wahlberg stars as Max Payne (20th Century Fox)
By Janeane White
Max Payne is a story about a man whose whole life has been ripped apart. He has his title of detective stripped from him, and he lost his wife and child. Even though it's been years since he lost his wife, he is still persistent in tryin to find her killer. He then learns of a mysterious tattoo that helps lead him to where he needs to go to solve the case.
Personally, I thought the effects were overdone and the story was rushed. The gun scenes were unrealistic and over the top to get the attention of the audience. I also thought the overall story could have been better. I've heard that it was based on a game but still I thought the story would have been more. I felt felt let down by the time the movie ended.
I liked the transitions and how the story was told. I also liked how it came full circle. It started with the main character Max (Mark Wahlberg) in trouble and then goes back and tells you how he got into that predicament. Little things like this made the movie interesting to some degree and easier to follow. It helped get the audience into the story. But the storyline gave too much away and most could guess what was going to happen. This caused the movie to be not that interesting
If you don't see this movie, you aren't missing much. It wasn't a miserable movie but it wasn't amazing either. It's floats somewhere in the middle with the rest of the forgotten films of the past that just didn't suck but weren't outstanding.
One of the demons in Max Payne (20th Century Fox)
By Rachel Landrum
Max Payne is a police officer whose family was killed three years earlier. The killers where never caught. Payne is so driven by revenge that he switches over to the cold case files to work on the case. On his search for redemption he discovers something that is very dark and dangerous.
I felt that the overall tone of the film was well done. It stayed with the dark and mysterious feel that I had assumed would be done with this kind of film. The plot was an interesting mix of mystery and action. I haven't played the game so I don't know if it stayed true to its origins in the video game world. Either way it was an interesting story. I felt they could have done more with it though, maybe more background on the characters. I felt it was missing something, maybe a different ending but the film could have been improved.
Max Payne is rated PG-13 for violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language.
