Max Payne review (BELATED)

So, I promised a review of Max Payne and due to midterms, I wasn't able to write it immediately. No frets for here it comes!

The first thing I noticed while watching the movie was that the style felt similar to the game. Each shot was dark and contained much detail, even adding a grain effect to give the movie more "detective authenticity." The acting was phenomenal and even some of the action shots were gasp-worthy. Mark Walhberg shines in a role that feels like it was literally built for him. Mila Kunis, playing the ever so sexy yet deadly Mona Sax, definitely let her inner femme fatale show. Unfortunately, her part gets cut a little short when they basically drop her out for almost the entire third act of the movie (she does come back to save him, of course). Seeing Ludacris as Agent Bravura really surprised me. I haven't seen anything else that he's acted in but my roommate told me he was excellent in 2 Fast 2 Furious. I forgot about him being a rapper and actually thought he was a film noir actor.

While there was a good side, there most usually is a bad side. The first and foremost, this movie is NOTHING like the video game. Now, in the previous entry, I hoped that this movie would shed some light that not all video game to movie adaptations are bad. I was thoroughly disappointed when the plot went from linear to the video game, to just obscure. And what was with all this talk of Norse myths?!?! I understand that in order to make a movie cinematic, you have to include other elements that might not have been in the game. The flying Valkyries that appeared almost every two seconds.... eh.

In my opinion, I think that the screenwriter had plenty of material to work with, but essentially tossed it out the window. There were so many things he could have done (i.e- put more emphasis on Max's nightmares, take out the Valkyries, etc). Instead, the focus was put on him losing his family, and trying to find the people who did it. More suspense could have been thrown into the movie, hell, even more action could have been thrown in, not just at the end of the movie.

Honestly, your best choice is to rent this movie when it comes out. Hopefully there will be some commentary along with it that will explain all the changes made.

I give this movie: *** (3 stars)

The saving grace: The acting and the overall look of the movie.

In other news, here's Mila Kunis on Jimmy Kimmel Live, talking about Max Payne, WoW (World of Warcraft), and her love/hate relationship with the Dodgers. Enjoy!



Who would have thought that Mila played WoW? Awesome!