Masand's Verdict: Max Payne inflicts maximum pain

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris O'Donell, Olga Kurylenko

Direction: Josh Moore

The only thing that seems to make any sense at all about Max Payne is its title. Sitting through this stylish-looking but incomprehensible action movie is an experience that inflicts maximum pain.

Based on a popular video game of the same name, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as a scowling NYPD cop determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murder of his wife and child. This journey takes him into a murky underworld of tattooed assassins, powerful liquid drugs, and mysterious flying beasts. It’s also the kind of film in which an ostensible good guy saves the hero from certain death, only to immediately betray him twenty minutes later and then try to kill him. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just let him die in the first place?

Watching our hero mow down row upon row of bad guys with weapons of all shapes and sizes, chances are you’ll be sitting there in your seat numbed by all the violence. It’s particularly annoying because the film’s plot is practically impossible to understand till one character in the film finally spells it out for both Max Payne and us, the poor audience. The single saving grace of this film is its monochrome photography which gives Max Payne a neo noir look. But that’s not enough to keep you engaged through its entire duration.

I’m going with one out of five and a thumbs-down for the bullet-fest that is Max Payne; the only thing more painful than the film itself is a rumor I read that they’re preparing a sequel.

Rating: 1 / 5 (Poor)