Mac Payne came out in October of 2008. It’s a grownup movie, folks, do not take the kids - there’s drugs, sex and incredible violence. Its based on a videogame, so duh, there will be lots of violence.
Max Payne’s offical blurb:
Max Payne is a maverick cop–a mythic anti-hero–determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murders of his family and partner. Hell-bent on revenge, his obsessive investigation takes him on a nightmare journey into a dark underworld. As the mystery deepens, Max is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world and face an unthinkable betrayal.
I liked it.
Really simply: it was a fun ride to watch a broken but not beaten man get to the root of his life’s troubles and fight them. This picture has critics sneering at it but one thing critics forget - a movie does not have to be lofty or elevated to be entertaining. I’ve only seen one good review - someone who *got* the concept that a beautiful, comic book style movie is about atmosphere and visual effects. The rest of the reviews seem to be comparing it to other ‘cop’ movies and shows, against which it just isn’t going to do as well - that isn’t what it is.
Critics complain that its depressing and very beaten down in feeling - but they just don’t get it. The main character *is* depressing and depressed and he has reason to be. But by the end of the movie you are feeling the ‘YEAH!’ and the ‘its about time!’ feeling - excitement and some justice and that by never giving up you can get somewhere, even if its not where you thought you would be.
I like that too. A lot.
I really don’t’ watch a lot of Mark Wahlberg movies - I couldn’t’ pick him out of a crowd. He was good in this - it took me near the end of the movie to realize he was the same guy in the Happening. So yeah, he can act, and he is different in each movie. There’s one scene where he’s a little like that guy - that’s when I figured out where I’d seen him before. Mark of a good actor, when you don’t carry your self into your roles so you are clearly identifiable from picture to picture, in my opinion. His interactions with the women in the movie were priceless - the one slutty girl just could not believe his obliviousness to her ‘charms’. I liked that they had him react … well, indifferently to anything that was not part of his goal, his cause. His crusade.
Beau Bridges was a fun little bit of acting to watch as well - he always entertains me even when he’s in movies I normally won’t watch - not someone I go to a movie to see, but someone I am always happy to see in a movie, if that makes any sense. He must have had fun with this one, that’s all I’m saying without going into why. See the movie and you’ll figure out what I mean.
The special effects are incredible - they are artistically done and they don’t last very long, so get an eyefull while they do last. There’s only a couple of scenes where you get to see more than just a quick flash of them and they’re worth the rest of the movie’s dark gritty look. The photography in general is outstanding - it is filmed a little like a comic book and I find those to be well put together graphically - I feel like they’re going back to film as an art form, not just a storytelling format where you try to get your story out without considering the art of each shot. Its definitely worth seeing on the big screen but I imagine it will translate well to the smaller screen - but get the widescreen version or you’ll miss some of the beauty of the composition of each scene.
Over all - I’d say I’ll probably get this one on DVD when it comes out, though I won’t rush out to buy it. I see it in a bargain, though, and I’ll snap it right up. It is worth seeing more than once.
~Rain out~
