Max Payne

"As most films based on video games turn out to be horrible messes (Streetfighter or Doom anyone?) I approached Max Payne with a reasonable amount of caution. Admittedly this project showed a lot more potential, featuring a big name cast and the game being used as source material clearly had more cinematic inspiration than most others. Still, once bitten twice shy as the old saying goes and expectations were moderate. In retrospect, this is a pretty good approach to take into a screening with you."

"Stylishly made, armed to the teeth and ludicrous in the extreme."

"Max’s righteous anger finds various allies and targets, though it is not always clear who is which. They are played by Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges and Ludacris with just enough panache and expressiveness to uphold the (increasingly irrelevant) distinction between a movie and a video game."

"With its flat story, numbed-out protagonist, and faux artistic lighting and set design - everything is dark or moody or darkishly moody or moodily dark - Max Payne seems a good half hour longer than its running time."

"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."

"If the weak story and beguiling look of Max Payne can keep your attention, you may be able to ignore the plot holes and problematic, continuity stuff."

"Max Payne is one of the worst big studio films I have seen in a long time. It’s incoherent, silly, filled with unintentionally hilarious dialogue and somehow, strangely boring."

"Turning video games into movies may be one way for studios to coax teenagers away from their laptops, but this time around, the results are miserable, in every sense of the word."