Max Payne review

Max Payne's director John Moore is clear to point out in the production notes that, "This film is not Minimum Payne. And it's not Medium Payne. It's Max Payne." Watching it is inclined to solicit the same response. Basing a movie on a video game is an unpromising start. Such games are not generally noted for their compelling narrative or characterization. And Max Payne's transition from the small screen to the larger format certainly does nothing to dispel that theory.

Moore and screenwriter Beau Thorne have clearly tried to retain the game's dark tone and imaginary element, but the result is a confused reality and a film that lacks identity and clarity. Populated with one-dimensional characters, little makes sense as it lurches disjointedly from one cliché to the next. Mark Wahlberg, who plays the hard-boiled policeman Payne, has a raw authenticity as an actor, making him perfect for playing tough guys, but the film's flights of fantasy require Wahlberg to enter a realm he's neither comfortable with or convincing in.

When we first meet Payne, he's been assigned to the Siberian wastelands of positions, working in the police department's Cold Case Unit. His once promising career having been derailed when his wife and young child are murdered. Bitter and angry, he has shut himself off from colleagues, friends and living. Instead he obsesses about revenge as he single-handedly navigates the city's seedy underworld, in violent pursuit of his family's murderers.

Max encounters a variety of nefarious characters including Jack Lupino (Amaury Nolasco), Mona Sax (Mila Kunis) and her seductive sister Natasha (Olga Kurylenko). Keeping tabs on his trail of destruction is Internal Affairs Detective Jim Bravura (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges") and the fraternal figure of B.B. Hensley (Beau Bridges). As Max ploughs his vigilante furrow, he uncovers a connection to his target involving a drug developed for the military that's designed to unleash a soldier's true violent potential. It is this drug that induces terrifying images of winged creatures that torment those who imbibe.

The film's noir-ish style is blended with its unearthly sheen and ubiquitous sprinkling of snow. All of which might be familiar and meaningful to fans of the game, but do little to help the uninitiated find anything to engage with or endear them. At one point Mona is warned against any involvement with the lawless policeman. "Mona, stay away from Max Payne." It's sound advice.

Kevin Murphy