Max Payne
Rated G-13 for violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
Is it possible to make a movie based on a video game that is more fun to watch than watching someone else play a video game?
The Story
Three years after the murder of his wife and baby, Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) is still hunting the third of three of their killers. You could say he's not a cheery guy; this is his revenge story.
When Max is tied to the murder of a woman (Olga Kurylenko) he met while chasing down a lead at a sleazy party, he starts to uncover more and more links between the woman and his wife's murder. Specifically, she has a tattoo similar to one found on one of his wife's killers.
As Max hunts answers, he is pursued and helped by his former partner on the police force (Donal Logue), his dad's former partner and family friend (Beau Bridges), the sister of the woman killed shortly after leaving Max's apartment (Mila Kunis), and an internal affairs cop (Ludacris) trying to figure out the growing number of dead bodies piling up around Max.
Eventually, Max learns it has something to do with a powerfully addictive drug and the strange demonic/angelic creatures glimpsed by those taking it as they are about to die.
The Verdict
What we thought of the movie on it's own terms
What Works: The filmmakers seem to have put most of their effort into the look of the film, all dark and snowy and cold and filtered in blue. Those visuals -- with their extreme angles, harsh lighting, and occasional bullet-time action sequences -- are the coolest looking part of the film. But...
What Doesn't Work: . . . that's not enough to make a good movie. I know action movie fans love to hate critics for loving to hate movies like "Max Payne." I can't say I hated it; I didn't care enough to feel that strongly.
"Payne" was never one of my games, so the movie was going to have to make me care about the story and the people in it all on its own. But director John Moore doesn't even really try. He expects the action and the mystery and the noir tone to be enough to drag me into empathy with our heroes. But it's all too loud and familiar and dank and sour.
A few character surprises or points of emotional connection along the way would have helped give all the detective work and action and beating of suspects a reason for existence beyond just getting the character to the final point of revenge and release.
Content: If you (or your parents) make decisions about what movies you'll see based on a film's ratings, "Max Payne" will confuse you. It would fit easily into a size R with its high shotgun-induced body count, drug use/addiction, and sexual content -- but the MPAA somehow squeezes the film into an awkward PG-13 to help the poor filmmakers squeeze a few more bucks from those middle school game players. Kind of makes the whole ratings thing a little useless.
Throw in significant swearing (including repeated use of God's and Jesus' names), and "Payne" fits the Rockstar Games approach to winning over younger players/viewers with surprising violence, sex, and language. (Their "Grand Theft Auto" series is the most obvious example.)
Worldview
How the film's take on life compares to a biblical perspective
[WARNING: To tackle's the movie's supernatural worldview, we're about to give away a few details.]
"Max Payne" does wrestle with a supernatural worldview. In an early voiceover, Payne says he doesn't believe in heaven, only pain, fear, and death. Still, on the verge of death, he sees visions of his slain wife and child. At one point, his deceased wife tells him, "Not yet, Max." He later calls her an angel and admits that he doesn't really know about heaven.
Max's lack of certainty about the afterlife and near worship of his departed loved ones explains a lot of his actions. He would openly reject the Bible's clear teaching that revenge should be left to God. (See Romans 12:19) Max has no other motive for living than to avenge his family; he has no other hope in dying than to be with them once more.
If only those convinced of the reality of heaven and hell were as driven by the hope of eternity with God as Max is by his hopeless revenge obsession.
The story also involves some creatures that appear to be scary winged demons of death. They are glimpsed by people hooked on a super drug and close to death. It's unclear if these creatures are just hallucinations brought on by the drug or if the drug somehow reveals the demons' otherwise invisible reality.
Either way, the story's claim is that these creatures might be those told of in Norse mythology, the ones that flew over the battlefield taking the "righteous dead" (those who drew first blood in combat) to heaven while leaving those who died in their sleep to go to hell.
Though the Bible leaves lots of room for speculation about the actions of angels and demons on earth now, it is not iffy about who will be in heaven or hell. Jesus' most famous claim is that He is the only door; nobody gets in without trusting in His blood spilled for the forgiveness of their sins. (See John 14:6 and Romans 10:9-11.) None of us earn our way in through "good enough" lives or valiant enough deaths.
Is it silly to talk about the theology of a not-great action movie based on a violent video game? Maybe. But we know too many people who borrow all their ideas about God and eternity from entertainment, so we're willing to take that entertainment seriously enough to have a sometimes silly conversation about the truth.
Questions:
- Are you a fan of the "Max Payne" video games? Did the movie live up or let you down?
- Would you have cast someone other than Wahlberg in the starring role? Who?
- Are you surprised the film landed a PG-13 rating? Do you care what a movie is rated? Why or why not?
- Do you think the winged demon things were just hallucinations -- or actual creatures visible only to those on the drug?
- Sequel or no sequel?
- Is it silly to talk about the spiritual beliefs of a mostly mindless action movie? Why or why not?
