Max Payne DVD Review
Having no prior knowledge of the Max Payne video game before seeing Max Payne the film, I think the film was an adequate crime/action drama with average acting and an interesting, if meandering, story line. Let’s just say that the first hour or so really dragged, and then the latter half of the film sped by like it was on, well, speed.
My Rating: 
The film is about Max Payne (played by Mark Wahlberg), who, ever since the murder of his wife and newborn baby, has been obsessed with finding their killers. Of the three junkies who killed his family, only one is alive, and Payne spends all his free time trying to track the guy down to exact revenge. By day, Payne is a desk-jockey detective now working the closed case files.
When a couple of dead bodies strategically show to make Payne look like he’s involved in the murders, Payne begins to realize that his wife and child’s murder is not all it may seem, and those in his life now may not be as trustworthy as he initially thought. His wife was employed by a large pharmaceutical company, and the drug they make is also causing adverse effects on those who take it, which may or may not be coincidence.
Lead Walhberg (Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, Invincible, The Departed, We Own The Night, The Happening) plays a believable hero bent on revenge. Max Payne also stars Beau Bridges (“My Name Is Earl”, The Fabulous Baker Boys) as the antagonist, which is a stretch; Amaury Nolasco (Transformers, “Prison Break”) as Jack Lupino; Donal Logue (Zodiac, American Splendor, The Tao of Steve) as Payn’e ex-partner, Alex Balder; Chris “Ludacris” Bridges (Crash, Hustle & Flow) as Jim Bravura, a fellow police officer; Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Moving McAllister, “That ‘70s Show”) as Mona Sax, the sister of a victim. Round out the cast are Chris O’Donnell (The Chamber, Circle of Friends, Scent of a Woman, School Ties) and Kate Burton (“Grey’s Anatomy”, “Rescue Me”, Empire Falls).
Director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, the Flight of the Phoenix update, the Omen remake) is heavy on the action in Max Payne, which was written by Beau Thorne and based on the Sam Lake video game by Remedy Entertainment and 3-D Realms Entertainment. The film is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen anamorphic, with audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish, English and Russian. Extras include two featurettes and the standard fare audio commentary. The first featurette covers the back story on Max’s wife and is presented in animated graphic novel form. The other is a behind the scenes overview of the film. The audio commentary features Moore, F/X guy Everett Burrell, and production designer Daniel Dorrance.
Max Payne is rated PG-13 “for violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language.”
Max Payne is an adequate action/crime film, but doesn’t stand out in any way, and the first half lags, so I give it 2 stars out of 5 stars.