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Max Payne (film)

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Max Payne
File:Paynep2.jpg
Teaser poster
Directed byJohn Moore
Written byBeau Thorne
Produced byJohn Moore
Scott Faye
Julie Yorn
StarringMark Wahlberg
Mila Kunis
Beau Bridges
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
CinematographyJonathan Sela
Edited byDan Zimmerman
Music byMarco Beltrami
Buck J. Sanders
Metsuo[1]
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
Australia October 16, 2008
United States October 17, 2008
United Kingdom November 14, 2008
Running time
100 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million [2]

Max Payne is a 2008 action film based on the 2001 video game of the same name. The film was directed by John Moore and stars Mark Wahlberg in the title role. The film was released on October 16, 2008 in Australia,[3] one day prior to the United States release date.[4]

Plot

The movie starts with Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg)struggling to surface in a river while also narrating. The film then cuts to one week earlier, Max has transferred himself to the DEA and is
obsessed with finding the killer who brutally murdered his wife and newborn daughter. Max then attends a party run by his friend and snitch Trevor Duncan, and it's here where he meets

Natasha Sax (Olga Kurylenko) and her sister Mona (Mila Kunis). Natasha and Max go back to Max's place where Natasha desires to have sex and even offers to act like Max's deceased wife, Michelle. This upsets Max and he asks her to leave. While walking in a alleyway, she is attacked and killed by a mysterious force.

The next day Max goes with his former partner Alex Balder (Donal Logue) to investigate her murder. Alex then reveals Max's wallet was found at the crime scene and that he is the prime suspect. Alex then compares a tattoo of wings found on Natasha's arms similar to the one on Michelle's arm when she was found dead. He then goes to Max apartment. Max receives his message and rushes to his apartment only to find Alex dead. Suddenly, he is attacked and thrown around until he blacks out. He then wakes up in hospital beside his mentor B.B. Hensley (Beau Bridges). Max then goes to Alex's house to offer his condolences but is forced to leave by his wife Christa Balder (Nelly Furtado) stating that everyone who ever cared about Max have always been pushed way by him. Max then meets Mona again, who is convinced Max killed Natasha, but Max convinces her that they are both looking for someone else. Max acquires knowledge that a man called Owen Greene was the last person Natasha called before her death.

The scene shifts to mob boss Jack Lupino (Amaury Nolasco) who has become unstable due to the drug Valkyr. He gives his victim the drug then shortly afterwards kills him. Max and Mona find Owen Greene's apartment but hear him screaming. Owen has also become unstable due to the drug and backs away from Max and Mona towards the edge of the apartment. He is then pulled by a demonic creature on wings and falls to his death. Max and Mona go to see a tattooist who tells them about the winged tatoo and that it is a soldier's angel and that to go to Heaven you must die in violence; if you die in your sleep, you go to Hell. Max then arrives at Aesir Productions, Michelle's former workplace, to talk with Jason Colvin (Chris O'Donnell). After burtally beating him up and even holding him at gun point, Colvin reveals everything. He explains that Michelle was working on somethong big with Nicole Horne (Kate Burton). Colvin also reveals the drug only worked in 1% of soldiers in the Military and the other 99% suffered traumatic hallucinations about demonic creatures. Colvin tells Max that everything he wants to need is in the envelope Colvin has been carrying around. Max and Colvin attempt to escape, but the S.W.A.T team arrive, after being alerted by Colvin's secretary. Colvin is shot dead and Max manages to escape with the envelope but not before encountering Jim Bravura (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) a internal affairs agent.

Mona later finds Max in a abandoned warheouse watching the video inside Colvin's pakcage. It is revealed that Aesir Productions was manufacturing Valkyr for the Military. It was a drug created for the purpose of enhancing each soldier's ability in combat and to control their fears. It is also revealed that Jack Lupino was a Sergeant in the Military who first became addicted to the drug and stated that he felt invincible. Mona tells Max that Lupino's lair is at Ragnarock. Subsequently, Max journeys to there and successfully kills all of Lupino's henchmen with ease. Max then encounters Lupino who attempts to force the drug into Max's body. Before he can, he is shot dead by B.B. who helps Max up and leaves. B.B.the turns on Max saying he is the lead manufacturer of Valkyr and that he is the killer Max has been searching for. B.B. and his partner then attempt to kill Max but Max manages to escape and jump into a freezing lake, where B.B. leaves him to die. Max barely makes it out alive and takes the two vials of Valkyr B.B. had earlier put in his jacket. He then hallucinates and the demonic creatures are revealed to be Valkyries. Max then goes to Aesir Productions to kill B.B. He is almost killed by B.B's assistant beofore Mona arrives and offers to hold them off until Max escapes. B.B has arranged a helicopter to evacute him while his assitnant blowws up the building. Mona fatally wounds his assistant, but he manages to blow up the floor he is on. Max catches up with B.B. and, despite being shot twice, he kills B.B. Max then slumps near the edge of the building and the dark, snowy cloudy city sky is now brightened up and the sun is shining. Max then has flashbacks of his past happy life and the film ends with his wife saying "Your're not done yet."[4]

Production

The 2001 video game Max Payne was optioned by the production company Collision Entertainment to produce a live-action film adaptation. By April 2002, distributors Dimension Films and Abandon Entertainment were attached to the project. Shawn Ryan, the creator of the television series The Shield, was hired to write a script for the planned film.[5] By June 2005, without production starting, Collision Entertainment had taken the project to 20th Century Fox.[6] In November 2007, with a script written by Beau Thorne, Fox announced John Moore as the director and Mark Wahlberg as the star in the titular role.[7]

Filming began in Toronto on March 2, 2008 and wrapped by May 9, 2008.[8] The film will be rated PG-13 in the United States, a departure from the M-rated video game series. Mila Kunis said of the tone-down, "It's incredibly dark. You still get the gist of it. The only difference between R-rated and PG-13 is you might not see as much blood. You might not see blood squirting everywhere, but as far as the sadness and the darkness of it and the distraught [nature] of these human beings is very much captured in the film."[9]

Though filmed with the intention of receiving a PG-13 rating, Max Payne received an unofficial R rating by the MPAA on September 5th 2008, which resulted in a backlash from Moore.[10].

On September 22, 2008, a recent trailer confirmed a PG-13 rating, "for violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language." [11] Director John Moore confirmed in an interview with GameDaily's John Gaudiosi that the film was awarded the PG-13 rating without any major changes being made to the film. Describing the re-editing process Moore stated, "We trimmed some frames more for the sake of trimming frames than anything, but we got the rating without any major changes at all."[12]

Many months prior to the release of the movie, a draft of the script had been leaked. Though many doubts existed as to the validity of the document, with the release of the Max Payne trailer, which had words exactly matching those of the script, it was accepted that the script was indeed real.

The film was given the 15 rating in the United Kingdom, for "strong violence"[13] and MA 15+ in Australia for "Frequent violence and drug use"[14].

Cast

  • Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne, a cop who, haunted by the murder of his family, disregards rules to investigate their deaths.[7] While describing his role, Wahlberg has said, "It's probably one of the edgier roles I've played but also the most layered. Here's a very happy guy who worked a dismal job, had a beautiful family. But the beauty in his life was taken away. He just goes on a rampage. It's all driven by emotion."[15]
  • Beau Bridges as B.B. Hensley, a former cop and Max Payne's mentor.[16]
  • Mila Kunis as Mona Sax, an assassin who seeks revenge for the murder of her sister.[16]
  • Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Jim Bravura, an internal affairs agent.[17]
  • Chris O'Donnell as Jason Colvin, an executive[18] and Nicole Horne's "right-hand man".[19]
  • Nelly Furtado as Christa Balder, wife of Alex Balder.[20]
  • Kate Burton as Nicole Horne, CEO of Aesir Corporation.[19]
  • Donal Logue as Alex Balder, Max Payne's former partner and best friend.[3]
  • Amaury Nolasco as Jack Lupino, Mob boss, Former Sergant in the military where he became a Valkyr test subject at first he says it makes him feel invincible like somethings watching over him he was probably the only person who had sort of a positive effect but becomes unstable due to his addiction to the drug.[3]
  • Olga Kurylenko as Natasha Sax , Mona's sister, she meets Max at an informant's party. She went home with Max and attempts to have sex with him. When she notices the pictures of Michelle, she volunteers to pretend to be Michelle. Max is upset by this and asks her to leave. Angry at herself and at Max she tries to contact her drug contact Owen for a sample of Valkyr. She is killed by Lupino while hallucinating, and her murder leads to Max's encounter with Mona.[21]
  • Marianthi Evans as Michelle Payne, Wife of Max Payne.[22]

Critical Reception

The film has received generally mixed-to-negative reviews. The film currently has a 17% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 70 reviews, and a consensus opinion that "While it boasts some stylish action, Max Payne suffers severely from an illogical plot and overdirection." [23] Tom Long noted that the film may be the worst of the year.[24] Louise Keller said "the most striking element is the production design..."[25] Bruce Paterson wrote for the Australian Film Critics Association and Cinephilia that "Mark Wahlberg is terrific in hard-bitten roles", but in a reference to the Valkyries concluded "it could have done with more of the Norse and less of the force."[26][27] Nelly Furtado's first movie performance was stated as "great." [28]

References

  1. ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FBF1RU/ref=dm_sp_alb
  2. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=maxpayne.htm, Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ a b c "Max Payne (2008)". imdb.com. imdb.com, L.P. Retrieved 2008-10-12. Cite error: The named reference "imdb" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "Max Payne". ComingSoon.net. Coming Soon Media, L.P. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  5. ^ Brodesser, Claude (2002-04-18). "Ryan takes game to 'Max'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  6. ^ Gaudiosi, John (2005-06-27). "Fox feels game 'Payne'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  7. ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2007-11-08). "Mark Wahlberg to star in 'Max'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  8. ^ "Max Payne Filming Soon". IGN. News Corporation. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  9. ^ Otto, Jeff. "Exclusive Max Payne Talk with Mila Kunis". ReelzChannel.com. ReelzChannel. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  10. ^ http://kotaku.com/5046154/max-payne-director-pissed-about-r+rating-blames-batman-blowjob
  11. ^ Brevet, Brad (2008-10-01). "Latest MPAA Ratings: #124". RopeofSilicone. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  12. ^ Gaudiosi, John. "Max Payne Director Wins Battle with MPAA, Gains PG-13 Rating". GameDaily. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  13. ^ "Max Payne receives 15 rating by BBFC; film just under 100 minutes long". RockstarWatch. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  14. ^ "Max Payne Movie Rated MA in Australia". RockstarWatch. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  15. ^ Adler, Shawn (2008-06-17). "Mark Wahlberg Calls Max Payne The Most Complex Character He's Ever Played". MTV Movies Blog. MTV. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  16. ^ a b Simmons, Leslie (2008-03-19). "Bridges joins Wahlberg in "Payne"". Reuters. The Thomson Corporation. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  17. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2008-06-18). "Ludacris Prepares To Go From Theater Of The Mind To Movie Theaters". MTV.com. MTV. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  18. ^ Sperling, Nicole (2008-04-02). "Chris O'Donnell lands role in 'Max Payne'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  19. ^ a b "Max Payne: The first great videogame movie?". gamesradar. Retrieved 2008-08-05. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  20. ^ "Nelly Furtado to appear in 'Max Payne'". RockstarWatch. 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-07-29. {{cite journal}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  21. ^ "IGN: Max Payne Publicity Stills". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  22. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2561177/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/max_payne/
  24. ^ http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081017/ENT02/810170385/1034/ENT02
  25. ^ "Max Payne". Urban Cinefile. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  26. ^ "Max Payne". Australian Film Critics Association. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  27. ^ "The Big Screen". Cinephilia. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  28. ^ "'Max Payne' not just for game lovers". State Hornet. Retrieved 2008-10-17.


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