Max Payne: An analytical comparative piece

No matter which way you look at it, Max Payne is an awful movie. It's only slightly cheeky and watchable more than once. Those who have never played the video game, which is the film's predecessor, will not like this movie. And to those who are well aware of the game's nature, having played it in full, enjoying it or not, I say this to you: I guarantee you will not see this movie as anything more than a trite, weakened adaptation of the original.

The reason I come back to the subject of the Max Payne film, is because there is more to be said and uncovered.

Just this morning, I finished another complete game of Max Payne, and took it upon myself to rent the film, being slightly intrigued to pursue the "Director's Cut" qualities that prompted me. Among the obvious boastings, I had hoped to find some deleted scenes, perhaps some insightful featurettes, some actor interviews; I even hoped to find some sort of "From Game to Film" piece/thing/short.

Needless to say, I was let down once again.

There were no deleted scenes, no insightful featurettes, no actor interviews, and certainly no "From Game to Film" piece. All that the disc contained was a theatrical version and a director's cut version of the film, and an audio commentary with the director. But come on, do I really want to watch this movie again, this time with the sound stifled, and the director bragging about his multi-million dollar grossing movie?

Oh yeah, speaking of money, Max Payne earned $17 million+ in its first week at the Boxoffice.

Max Payne

For some reason, John Moore, the movie's unimpressive director, felt it was necessary to steer the film completely away from its predecessor's original storyline.

Some of the changes that were made:

• The role of Jack Lupino is hyped up, being more of a super-human on drugs than a madman affected by drugs, on drugs.
• The role of Norse mythology symbolism is at large in the game. However, the film takes the idea of Valkryes, Valhalla, etc, and turns it into a literal, insinuating reality, that these bad dudes really DO have wings, and really are waiting for the Valkryes to carry them off the battlefield. This is especially so with the character of Jack Lupino.
  
• The character of B.B. is revealed to be a counterpart in the whole of the Valkyr operation. However, he is not part of the drugged-outs who killed Max's family.
• Nicole Horne is killed in the final shoot out on top of the Aesir building. She does not live for a sequal.
  
• Vladimir, head of the Russian mafia never makes an appearance in the film. (unless he is the man, walking opposite Max on the street; this would in turn make sense, seeing as how that character was at the party in Mona's gang, as she attempted to strong-arm her sister Natasha)
• Natasha Sax, Mona's sister, is not a character from the storyline. In the game, she is Don Punchinello's wife. Punchinello is head of the Italian mob.
  
• The character of Mona Sax is a twin sister to Lisa, and not at all Russian (which is how she is portrayed in the movie). She is most certainly American.
• Alfred Woden, head of the Inner Circle (a secret society responsible for funding all sorts of things, from the shadows of course) is nowhere to be seen in the film.
• The scene that introduces the game, is of Max on top of the Aesir building, punctuating the end of his vendetta by claiming "They were all dead." This is the same scene in which the final scene exits as well. The film was consistent with mirroring a scene in the introduction, and further into the movie. Well done, film. HOWEVER, it is not of Max's final scene on top of the Aesir building. It is instead of him floating in the river, telling us about the criminals and such that hang out with him at the bottom of the Hudson River. A dizzying inclusion.
  
• The story behind Max's vendetta is made visually clear in the beginning of the game. We see him coming home to find his wife and baby murdered. However, in the film, the emotional response to the scene is not seen until nearly half way through the movie.

Scott Miller, CEO of 3D Realms (producer of the Max Payne games) put it best, when asked asked for his thoughts on this minor alteration:

"Saving this scene until mid-film is a narrative blunder, because the audience needs to empathize with Max in order to like him and understand what drives him."

-Edge Online

This is exactly what the game, or should I say, the original storyline accomplished. Its portrayal of Max's unspoken plight was indeed made clear, and his taste for revenge (to an extent) did seem justified. But most importantly, from the very beginning (and this is where the movie lost points) we could understand his anger. There was never any confusion as to why you were Max Payne, and why Max Payne had nothing to lose.

Another fact about the film:

Rotten Tomatoes gives it 18% on the Tomatometer. Out of 123 reviews, 22 were fresh and 101 were rotten. An average of 3.8/10

As for reviews of the film, here are a number of them that stood out to me. Click for a link to the full review:

-"Honestly, you find yourself rooting against Payne's survival, even with a good actor in the hollow role. There's nothing inside the film's sour, slovenly spirit of vengeance." Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

-"Simply terrible. An insult to gamers and action fans. Frankly, it doesn't even deserve notoriety as one of the year's worst; it deserves to be forgotten." Russ Breimeier, Christianity Today

-"A profound feeling of laziness hovers over the entire picture, suggesting that it was as joyless to make as it is to watch." Ethan Alter, Film Journal International

-"Max just drags on as it drags you down. If you stay and watch the endless end credits, there's a short scene that hints a sequel is coming. That's what I call real pain." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

-"Max Payne is content to be an efficient vehicle for the delivery of a familiar range of sensations, some of which almost rise to the level of feelings." A.O. Scott, New York Times

-"A movie that cares much more for poetic choreography in explosive gunfights than gaping lapses of logic in a flimsy crime narrative." Ted Fry, Seattle Times

-"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." Rob Salem, Toronto Star

-"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." Jeffrey Bloomer, Paste Magazine

-"Every shot, every edit is well thought out. But in the end, I didn't care about anyone." Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine

As you can see, many reviewers share my thoughts on Max Payne.

A reviewer at the Internet Movie Database put it best when he said,

"I wanted this to be good. I kept lying to myself and saying it would get better any minute.

People who say I am disappointed because it isn't the video game need to understand I didn't want the video game I wanted an action film that captured the essence of the game.

We are left with no reason to care for Max Payne. If I was the writer I would have been ashamed to have my name attached.

Max Payne got the Indy treatment.

I really want my money back on this one. I felt insulted that they thought this script was a passable story"

Check out if interested:
Graphic Novel
A good run down on the basics of Norse mythology
Script of Max Payne video game