Max Payne (20th Century Fox)
Wahlbergs Good, The Movie Isnt
Max Payne is another example of actor Mark Wahlberg being good in a bad movie. To say the actor outshines his material is to overstate the obvious. This film is based on a video game and it shows. The plot is hokey, the characters paper thin and the look of the film is a bit odd. It has action but in this case action just isnt enough.
Max Payne (Wahlberg) is a cop who comes home to find his wife and child murdered. He immediately becomes obsessed with finding who the murderer was and why this horrible thing happened. His best friend and confidant BB (Beau Bridges) tries to get him through his problems but they keep mounting up.
The sister (Mila Kunis) of another dead woman wants to know what Max knows, and is willing to trade some of her information to gain it. Together they begin to link the pieces and they lead to Maxs wifes place of work and to co-worker Jason Colvin (Chris ODonnell).
None of it ever makes a lot of sense and when the story centers on a hallucinatory drug that makes the imbibers see winged creatures flying through the snow filled sky, well the movie is over the top. And the snow that falls throughout the movie seems to have some symbolic meaning that escapes most of the viewers.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
Even though the movie is weak Wahlberg still delivers a satisfying performance. He manages to convey the anguish and the obsessiveness of Max Payne. Kunis is a little bit laughable as the gun toting ally he finds. Bridges is just good old Beau Bridges once again. Ludicrous is in the movie for a few minutes as a cop looking into Maxs actions.
Kate Burton and Chris ODonnell are too good as actors to make cameos in a film like this one. What were they thinking! They are on screen for seconds and then they are gone.
This is Wahlbergs second loser in a row. After The Happening I thought he would come back strong but Max Payne is not a good follow-up movie for his career. Maybe his next one will break this loser cycle. For his sake lets hope so.
I scored Max Payne a painful 4 out of 10.
