The Max Payne Movie hit cinemas down under today and has so far not had great reviews. The film has been labeled 'horrid', 'sub-standard', 'dull' and 'dodgy' in many reviews published online today. Many say that the film lacks quality, and that the action is great but it takes a primary role in the game, with the story (which has always been terrific in the Max Payne games) sluggishly behind the action.
Now we aren't much fans of critics, as you may have noticed over the last year, but we do respect that they have an opinion, as does everyone. We have yet to see the film, however we find some of the reviews so far to be very harsh, take this one from Empire for example:
Come on. It’s too easy to review the latest videogame movie blowout by just repeating its title in a sarcastic yet kinda funny way. Surely you can put more thought into summing up how dreary and dopey this revenge rubbish is, although that might be more mental energy expended than was used in the making of a payne-ful (sorry) picture.
Many reviews listed the film as dull and boring and also said that the action was without cause; meaning there was more action then a story to really back it up. While other reviews mention some of the positives of ths film also:
There are guns blazing, mysterious winged creatures, a symbolic tattoo, an elusive blue elixir, an unresolved murder and big stunts, yet Max Payne is surprisingly lacklustre. (note: lacklustre means lacking brilliance or vitality)
Then there's the less subtle, like Ain't It Cool News who reviewed the film earlier this week, and well, they trashed it all the way down to the last minute of the film:
Then the reality of the film began to seep in. Horrid dialogue, surprisingly bad acting across the board, and some really dodgy sound editing — have you ever noticed sound editing before? ...me neither — helped to drive an already sub-standard plot further into the ground...
Nobody comes out of this thing looking good. The damn thing's 85 minutes and you swear you've been in there for about two and a half hours by the time it's over. All the buzz you've been hearing about how this film is good is coming from people whose jobs depend on it making money. Do not give it the time of day.
There are plenty more hard-hitting reviews, the Sunday Morning Herald said "there are plenty more stupider [game to movie adaptions] than Max Payne" and San Jose Mercury News said "It hides its video-game roots reasonably well, better than it hides its Toronto-subbing-for-New York locations."
While first reviews aren't making the film look to be that terrific, I wouldn't let it change your mind about seeing the film. Remember that while it may not have impressed the critics, it may impress you. Possibly the smartest thing any of the critics today have said is this:
I suspect there is a legion of fans who will get a lot more out of Max Payne than me, and they'll no doubt sigh with relief at the ending. I just sighed.
In other words, if your a fan, maybe the film will interest you more than it did the critics. We still intend to see the film, and should be seeing it tomorrow. We'll let you know what we thought of it then.
Well it took until only a few days before the release of the film for Australia's Rating System (OFLC) to rate the film, and it's odd but not surprising that it received a very high rating. The film was rated MA 15+, which is the second highest rating possible for a film in Australia.
The odd part about the high rating is that the US rated the film PG-13, which is equal to an M in Australia. It's no oddity for the OFLC to rate media higher than it should be, but they are usually not very hard on films. Could it be the fact it was based on a game? Entirely possible, but a little far fetched.
It doesn't make sense that a film rated PG-13 in the US (meaning it requires Parental Guidance) could be rated MA in Australia which would make it Restricted to Mature Audiences. At this rating it is in the same league as films such as the Saw movies, and many other horror movies. Things just don't add up, it is possible that Australia is going to receive the unedited version of the film that the US originally had rated R? Or has the OFLC just over-rated something again? Guess we'll just have to wait and see...
Source: OFLC Website
Earlier this week Fox released two exclusive film clips of the Max Payne Movie, they gave a small insight into how the film plays out and just how much it is like the game series. For me it feels just like playing the game, only your not in control, Wahlberg seems to play the part fairly well and have similar a personality to the game character. Give both the clips a look for yourself and see what you think:
Today a video of Ludacris in his role in the movie was released, we guess by Fox however it's not clear, and it's been circling video sites all morning, its similar to the length of the two videos from earlier in the week, only the quality isn't as great:
It is great to see Fox giving us a taste of the movie, with many people being on the fence about it, maybe these videos can help shed light on the movies link to the game. After all, if it has any chances of succeeding it needs to respect the game in all regards, or it just becomes another failed game adaption.
The Official Max Payne Movie website has been massively updated this week, and being the film is a mere 6 days from release world-wide, it's not a moment too soon. The update consisted of a layout change, new photos, cast information and photos, concept art vs. final cut comparison, desktop wallpapers, and loads more.
Film Synopsis
Based on the legendary, hard-hitting interactive video game, MAX PAYNE tells the story of a maverick cop determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murder 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 (Wahlberg) is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world and face an unthinkable betrayal.
Photos - you may have seen a few of these already, one that you would definitely not have seen though is the last one, which isn't even on the official website, we found it hidden amongst the other photos however it isn't listed on the photos page of the site, hidden photo anybody?
Cast Photos - most of the cast have photos on the website now, as well as information on who they play and the actors history which you can see on the actual website. You can also read up on the crew behind the scenes. Click the images below for a large photo of the actor in a scene from the film:
| Photo | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
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MARK WAHLBERG | Max Payne |
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MILA KUNIS | Mona Sax |
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BEAU BRIDGES | B. B. Hensley |
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CHRIS BRIDGES | James Bravura |
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OLGA KURYLENKO | Natasha |
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AMAURY NOLASCO | Jack Lupino |
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CHRIS O’DONNELL | Jason Colvin |
Concept Art vs. Final Cut Comparison - comparison copies of the original concept art for the film and the final film scenes was also included in the update, it's interesting to see just how the film went from a drawing to a scene and still kept the "look" of the Max Payne franchise. Some of the concept art may remind you of the art released by a blog a last week, at which time we were unsure if it was real or not.
| Concept Art | Final Cut |
|---|---|
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Wallpapers - available in two sizes, 1280x1024px and 1600x1000px.
On a final note, the update only affected the US version of the website at maxpaynethemovie.com/US/. Other versions of the site have not been updated, the UK one for example still holds the old layout, while the Australian one appears to just have an embedded trailer.
For more see: Max Payne Movie Official Website | US Version
The Max Payne movie is hotting up the press, and it's being talked about all over the place. From fans of the game series to people who have never even heard of it, many cannot wait to see this blockbuster movie. Yesterday 13 new photos emerged as well as an International Poster which came directly from Fox, check them out below:
Photos:
Poster:
Sources: Poster - CanMag | Photos - AceShowBIZ
Check back soon, no doubt there will be something new to hear about Max Payne...
IGN has released three new Max Payne photos from the movie which is due out next week (via filmofilia.com).
Also, Chicago residents earlier this week had a chance to meet Mark Wahlberg and Ludacris when they attended an unveiling of some local street artwork inspired by the movie. Artists Zore, Rawfa, and Rogue created three street artworks commemorating the movie and in the traditional Max Payne style. The artworks will be located throughout the city for a limited time, so check them out if your in Chicago and near 2215 W. Lawrence Ave., between Ridgeway and Lawndale. where the artwork was unveiled. No photos have been made available as of yet, so we'll update this article if any appear.
Source: ShackNews
Mark Walhberg and Ludacris from the Max Payne movie stopped by "Good Day Philadelphia" on Monday to talk about the film. Mark once again stated that he has never played the game, nor did he know it was based on a game when we first accepted the roll. He did say that he didn't know games with storylines as interesting as Max Payne's existed. You can see the full interview below:
Source: MyFoxPhilly
The British board of film classification who rate all media in the UK has announced today that the Max Payne movie has been reviewed and rated by the Board and has received a 15 rating. This means the film can be viewed by any persons 15 years or over only. The rating tag noted that the film contains "Strong violence" and the BBFC also said that the film was 99m 40s long.
So far the MPAA (America) and BBFC (UK) have rated the film. The OFLC (Australia) are still yet to rate the film, which is rather odd considering that the movie is being released a day earlier in Australia (on the 16th of October). We'll keep you posted.
As for the MPAA rating, you may have heard that the Max Payne film was re-rated from R to PG-13 2 weeks ago, which was great news for American and the movies director who was disappointed with the R rating. Rumors have been spreading that it was re-rated at 3rd time to an R rating, however no official statement has suggested this hold any truth, so we wouldn't be too worried about that rumor at this time.
Source: BBFC website
Here we have a little round-up, if you will. We've been watching online blogs for the past week collecting little tidbits of information on the upcoming Max Payne Movie, and we managed to find some nice concept art, a terrific wallpaper and some new photos. Now the concept art is apparently an exclusive for the website DenOfGeek.com and came from Fox, however they don't exactly look up to the standard of the art released so far by Fox. We'll let you be the judge of that though, because even if it does turn out to be fan art, it's pretty good:
We also discovered some new photos from the set of the Max Payne Movie, and there even high-quality, check them out below:
The last thing we found was this nice wallpaper which is actually based off the first photo above (the one with Max standing on the building roof). It is 1400x900 pixels, so it should be suitable for most desktops, and its been cleanup up so it looks terrific:
The movie is out October 17th, and the the film is being hyped up everywhere at the moment. Blogs especially are packed with entry's by fans as well as critics, myself frankly can't wait to see and intend to see it the day it comes out, being it will be my birthday that day. We'll keep you up to date on any new information or photos that crop up before then.
Sources: Concept Art thanks to DenOfGeek.com, Photos thanks to SpoilerTV and wallpaper created by Jeayese.com.
Fox has recently started to air a new ad for Max Payne. The ad features a couple of new un-before scenes. Other than that, it's still pretty much a shortened version of the first trailer. We have embedded the trailer below for your viewing pleasure.
