Max Payne (film)

With Hitman, BloodRayne, Doom, and various movies directed by the infamous Uwe Boll, game to film adaptations have had a terrible track record. The Max Payne series are some of my favorite computer games of all time, so when I heard it would be brought to the big screen, I was eager but hesitant. I was hoping, however slim the chances may be, that Max Payne would be the exception amongst the game to film adaptations. Alas, after watching the movie, my inner suspicions were correct: the film did not fully capture the essence of the games.
In the games, you had Max running and gunning. In the movie he spent most of the time walking and talking. The first three quarters of the movie were conversations after conversations, with bits of violence sprinkled in between. I could count the number of instances where the film used bullet time in one hand. It just isn’t Max Payne without the liberal use of bullet time and a high body count that is signature in the games. Also, the film missed the big irony in the game: Max Payne popping painkillers to mollify his wounds. The movie does recreate the mood, environment, and the general (if altered) plot. Just like in the games, the weather is harsh as there is constant rain and snow. The dark and cold ambiance compliments the film noir story, and Walberg acts a believable Max Payne. The rare bullet time moments are, indeed, as stylish as they were in the games.
Video games are typically ten to fifty hour interactive experiences where one is a player, and movies are one to two hour passive experiences where one is a viewer. One has to wonder if game to film endeavours are intrinsically cursed due this involvement difference between the two mediums of entertainment.