Max Payne (2008)

16% of critics liked it
(130 reviews)
36% of users liked it
(213,563 ratings)

Rockstar Games' double-gunned action franchise comes to the big screen thanks to director John Moore (The Omen) and Mark Wahlberg, who embodies the title character of Max Payne, a widowed cop hell-bent on delivering justice no matter what the cost as he investigates a string of killings in his city.… More Rockstar Games' double-gunned action franchise comes to the big screen thanks to director John Moore (The Omen) and Mark Wahlberg, who embodies the title character of Max Payne, a widowed cop hell-bent on delivering justice no matter what the cost as he investigates a string of killings in his city. Mila Kunis and Chris O'Donnell head up the supporting cast, with Beau Thorne adapting the screenplay for the 20th Century Fox production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: John Moore
Written By: Beau Thorne
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Oct 17, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Jan 20, 2009
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Critic Reviews

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer
Max Payne is a junkyard dog of a film that is true to its video-game roots even as it transcends them.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
The filmmakers aim their cynicism more at us than at any government or drug company.
Mike Mayo, Washington Post
Sexy girls and lots of automatic weapons are involved in an occasionally coherent plot.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
You can't help but wonder where the fine actor in The Departed and even Invincible has gone. It's not been a good year for Wahlberg: First The Happening, and now this.
Rob Salem, Toronto Star
Maybe somebody decided the movie was already so convoluted and leaden that throwing in a few swooping, screeching valkyries could only help. They do not.
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
The moviegoers are passive hostages on a long ride they've taken so many times before. So gameboys are advised to man their PlayStations this weekend; action-movie fans in search of red meat can wait for the inevitably more graphic DVD version.
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel, 3BlackChicks Review
Payneful
Anders Wotzke, Moviedex
Never comes close to captivating its audience like the game did before it.
Jeffrey Bloomer, Paste Magazine
The willfully absurd action sequences help the movie slog along, but slog it does, right through to the obligatory after-credits scene to establish the possibility of a franchise.
Simon Weaving, Screenwize
Based on a Finnish shoot-em up video game, Max Payne is all style and little story, cheerless detective Max (Mark Wahlberg) drifting through a washed out and snowy New York in search of his wife's killer.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
Two words sum up my favorite parts of this film: 'Olga' and 'Mila'
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
It held my attention, which is more than I can say for some of the so-called "art films" that come out at the end of every year.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
A detective story, a pharmaceutical miracle drug and winged creatures from some demonic dimension sprouting like weeds in the spring. Too much and too artificial.
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
Imagine The Constant Gardener after a frontal lobotomy, and that's basically Max Payne in a nutshell.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[A]ll [the] wide-open possibilities about where this story can go get so narrowed down into something banal and bleak and ordinary that you can hardly breathe with it...
, Empire Magazine
This tired, neutered action thriller won't cause you max pain, but you might wince every now and again.
Nigel Floyd, Time Out
John Moore directs the hell out of the action, while Jonathan Sela's glistening photography captures the snow and rain that fall on these bloody New York streets. But you'd have to be on crack not to guess the 'surprise' finale.
Daniel Etherington, Film4
Among the best films adapted from videogames. Say no more.

Read all 18 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

John M

Kunis and Wahlberg are not bad. Thats the best I can do. Decent effects for an action movie but no where as cool as the games it was based off of.
Lady D

Sort of hit or miss throughout for me. Parts were interesting, revenge is always a good story base, I know nothing about the game it's been adapted from, but feel it would have been more enjoyable to model it on the graphic novel adaptions. Some important clues were easily… More
Sort of hit or miss throughout for me. Parts were interesting, revenge is always a good story base, I know nothing about the game it's been adapted from, but feel it would have been more enjoyable to model it on the graphic novel adaptions. Some important clues were easily guessible and parts were action packed, others a little static.
Anthony L

Having never played to game on which it's based I have nothing to go on as far as adaptation goes but I'm not sure if that matters so much does it!? Anyway, I liked the noir style of this film - the darkly lit alleyways, the no-mans land of New York's side streets and… More
Having never played to game on which it's based I have nothing to go on as far as adaptation goes but I'm not sure if that matters so much does it!? Anyway, I liked the noir style of this film - the darkly lit alleyways, the no-mans land of New York's side streets and the lingering snow, continually floating throughout the film were all nice touches. I even thought the CGI demons/dark angels were done well. Also, the acting was fine - Mark Wahlberg isn't the worlds greatest actor but he's likable and that's what gets him through. I thought Chris "Ludacris" Bridges was quite good though and deserved a bigger role. The only real problem and unfortunately the most important thing to get right in a film, was the story. It was uninteresting and predictable. I can't see a sequel happening.
Dean !

I haven't played the games, of which a third is due out soon?! So I can only merit it as a film in its own right. Aware of poor reviews, I wasn't aware too much of the story behind the games, other than a cop who hands out his own rough justice. It was an interesting film… More
I haven't played the games, of which a third is due out soon?! So I can only merit it as a film in its own right. Aware of poor reviews, I wasn't aware too much of the story behind the games, other than a cop who hands out his own rough justice. It was an interesting film but I think most expected a lot more action, or maybe more blood and violence. Instead it's more of a film noir thriller. The visuals are impressive, not just the cgi angels but the overall cinematography. The action gets better towards the end with a good shoot-out, but overall it needed a bit more throughout. A good surprising cast line up though!
Cassie H

A really good action movie. Mark Wahlberg & Mila Kunis were great in this film.
Matt G

I don't hate 'Max Payne'. Hated by the public upon initial release, both the audiences and the critics gave negative reactions to this. While I didn't like it, it wasn't nearly as terrible as I was led to believe. I enjoyed Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, and… More
I don't hate 'Max Payne'. Hated by the public upon initial release, both the audiences and the critics gave negative reactions to this. While I didn't like it, it wasn't nearly as terrible as I was led to believe. I enjoyed Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, and found the action to be pretty impressive from a technical standpoint, making 'Max Payne' watchable.
Conner R

Just about as bad as its reputation. The only thing good about Max Payne is the way it looks. The set design, style and overall feeling is great. However, the story and characters are so outlandish and stupid that you can't enjoy the movie at all. It takes itself so seriously and… More
Just about as bad as its reputation. The only thing good about Max Payne is the way it looks. The set design, style and overall feeling is great. However, the story and characters are so outlandish and stupid that you can't enjoy the movie at all. It takes itself so seriously and therefore you can't really accept the totally bizarre and outlandish elements that are brought in. Sadly, they also missed out on letting Mark Wahlberg go full throttle with his bad cop routine (which he can do in his sleep). This is just a series of bad vignettes that amount to absolutely nothing. I have no idea what was trying to be accomplished with the blue drugs and flying demons, but it just came off as ridiculous.
Brad W

The movie wasn't horrible, it was just bad. The plot is so boring and uninteresting now I want to see if they really made a game on this. The acting was okay, nothing award winning. The action and effects were okay, there was nothing new. The camerawork was actually really… More
The movie wasn't horrible, it was just bad. The plot is so boring and uninteresting now I want to see if they really made a game on this. The acting was okay, nothing award winning. The action and effects were okay, there was nothing new. The camerawork was actually really good if you pay attention. The music was nothing special, I wasn't impressed by anything I heard. The movie had so much potential, but down the line something went wrong.
Jens S

Without knowing the game this film is based on, I can only talk about this from the cinematic point of view. It is starting out like a crime noir thriller with lots of characters, most of which die the minute they appear, leaving very few to suspect as the villains in this.… More
Without knowing the game this film is based on, I can only talk about this from the cinematic point of view. It is starting out like a crime noir thriller with lots of characters, most of which die the minute they appear, leaving very few to suspect as the villains in this. Accordingly the plot has very few surprises to offer and no part of the investigation makes this movie any more interesting. After an hour at least there is plenty of action for the remains of the film. The drug hallucination scenes are rather silly, though. In the end there is little you care about, if super-slo-mo-action sequences aren't enough to get you excited. Nothing to write home about whatsoever. Can't they just let the games stay games?
Richard C

I really liked the movie. It's not great but I didn't think it was bad. A lot of people hate this movie. It could have been better since the game was awesome. It wasn't so close to the game people complained about it and I was a little dissapointed too but the movie… More
I really liked the movie. It's not great but I didn't think it was bad. A lot of people hate this movie. It could have been better since the game was awesome. It wasn't so close to the game people complained about it and I was a little dissapointed too but the movie turned out decent. I've heard that a lot of people hate so much because they were bored out of their minds and said there was no action. I was never bored and the movie does have a slower approach but there's a little bit of action spread out through the movie and then the last 30 minutes is all action. I know the movie has problems but I liked it. B
Stuart B

Simply Hated It Totally
Jeff "

Being a huge fan of the game in my mid teens, I anxiously waited for this film to be released. I just needed to see it. When I did, I got the surprise of my life. The film was terrible. I felt that the film over did it on so many levels and Mark Wahlbergs performance ruined the film.… More
Being a huge fan of the game in my mid teens, I anxiously waited for this film to be released. I just needed to see it. When I did, I got the surprise of my life. The film was terrible. I felt that the film over did it on so many levels and Mark Wahlbergs performance ruined the film. The only element they really kept the game was the surrealistic feel of the game and bits of the original story. But that was it. They totally butchered this film, and they could've done something very cool with this film. Set wise it's a great looking film, but as an action film, it's very bad and overall stupid.
Alexis N

revenge is best served by mark wahlberg! it took a hour, but damn did it get pretty bad ass.
Coxxie M

yea i ended up seeing it alright. and it sucks. happy, Austin?!.... whoops i dont want you perverts to know my name. GREG. my names Greg. anyway, yes indeed it does suck. what the hell did you expect, the director hired Ludacris. i would watch this again when im 50 for a… More
yea i ended up seeing it alright. and it sucks. happy, Austin?!.... whoops i dont want you perverts to know my name. GREG. my names Greg. anyway, yes indeed it does suck. what the hell did you expect, the director hired Ludacris. i would watch this again when im 50 for a colon-cleansing. And i wont actually say anything about the movie, cause no-one will read this and i fear i will die of exhaustion trying to explain even the most minimal plot outlines. NOW GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY A SPORT FOR GOD'S SAKE.
Tony G

Max "pain" indeed.
KJ P

I thought it was good, but it lacks on plot lines and doesn't stay true to the games!
Wahida K

A great action Movie.
Bannan i

Ever since I saw MM's music in tune to the first trailer...it intrigued me...and I hear it's a bloody video game? Interesting. :] **** - post-viewing edit The Spiel: I really kept myself as far away from peoples' opinions on this movie as much as… More
Ever since I saw MM's music in tune to the first trailer...it intrigued me...and I hear it's a bloody video game? Interesting. :] **** - post-viewing edit The Spiel: I really kept myself as far away from peoples' opinions on this movie as much as possible, and in the end..I kinda liked it. Seeing as I have not one iota of knowledge of how the games reflect with this adaptation, I'll just tell you lot what I see. The Who/What/When/et al: The story is about a character named Max Payne -no, sadly it's not Power but heck this name fits pretty well- and he's a detective in the police force. Something really horrible happened to his family, since when he's not been the same and he's stuck in the same rut. Trying to solve the case, over and over and over. Then, some brutual murders turn up...and funny enough Max was at one point or another where these people were prior to their deaths. *cue suspense music* Somehow, the entire force thinks it's his fault and seeing as he's not really the talkative type...accusations become clear. Here's suspect numero uno, yet Max couldn't care less...something happened that ties these deaths together and then vengeance is definitely best served cold. Once he teams up with a Russian mafia (?) assassin trying to unravel the mystery to bring about justice, we have a menagerie of characters that become apart of the story and turn out to be either obstacles...or mere hurdles to cross. Ending Thoughts & Junk: Curious, curious storyline that leads to a very interesting conculsion. I adored the mix of mythlogy in this...and for fear of telling you lot too much...I'd just recommend it to those who love a gut film noir. Ah, Marky Mark...your reputation precedes you with that gravelly voice and vigilante-esque attitude! What a peculiar assortment of players upon this set, cameo one upon the next...and in a neat little bundle they amount to. And the effects! Wonderful, not amazingly new...but pretty damn decent trying for originality in this day and age. Overall, not bad...not bad at all. Quotastic: There's an army of bodies under this river, people who ran out of time, out of friends. I could feel the dead down there, reaching up to welcome me as one of their own. It was an easy mistake to make. Visual Gutness: <img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/chrischee18/SP6lRzDjsgI/AAAAAAAAF3g/ijpf7usD5xQ/s800/max-payne-movie.jpg'> And the only way you'll find out EXACTLY who this dark alluring creature is...is to watch the flick...or play the game, I guess. :]
♥˩ƳИИ &

Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris O'Donnell Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent (Wahlberg) whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin (Kunis) out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the… More
Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris O'Donnell Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent (Wahlberg) whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin (Kunis) out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This movie was a trip. A good one. Lots of action. Great performances. I enjoyed watching this movie more then I thought I would. It pulls you in right from the start. The storyline is really interesting and very different from anything I have ever watched. Of course there are hundreds of movies out there based on revenge, but the story behind his revenge is whats intriguing. Mark Wahlberg is the man to cast when doing an action movie, he was awesome. Really liked Mila Kunis in this movie too. Just a really good action flick that I think anyone who loves some action and explosions will love.
xGary X

Burnt out cop Mark Wahlberg stumbles across a conspiracy involving a super-addictive drug that induces psychosis whilst investigating the case of his murdered family. Based on the Noir-inspired Rockstar game of the same name, Max Payne certainly looks the part. The fantastic visuals,… More
Burnt out cop Mark Wahlberg stumbles across a conspiracy involving a super-addictive drug that induces psychosis whilst investigating the case of his murdered family. Based on the Noir-inspired Rockstar game of the same name, Max Payne certainly looks the part. The fantastic visuals, although not in the same league as Sin City, capture the mood and style of the game perfectly, and the slo-mo gun battles that were the trademark of the game are very impressively staged. Unfortunately, as ever, the failings of the movie version can be laid squarely at the door of the script writer. Surely all he had to do was take the bare bones of the idea presented in the game's cut scenes and flesh out the character and story? But no, if anything the narrative we find here is even more skeletal. Max Payne was an incredibly intense and self-destructive character, but here he's just Bourne again, the characters all two dimensional and the story breathlessly episodic. I enjoyed it for the visuals and the impressive set pieces, but I have no particular desire to sit through it again. Hardly the worst video game adaptation (in fact it's actually one of the better ones) but it's purely fire and forget film making.