By Ricky Simpson

Max Payne

If you sat in the theater and watched the “Max Payne” trailer and thought “Max Payne” is an absolutely horrible name for a super dark drama, I’m right there with you. Twentieth Century Fox actually gets a get out of jail free card on this one since the demonistic drama was adapted from a video game of the same name. But it doesn’t change the cheesiness the name brings and the fact that it robs the film of its legitimacy.

In “ Max Payne,” Payne (Wahlberg) is a struggling New York City police officer who seems to have unlimited access to automatic weapons and an uncanny ability to elude whizzing bullets. Payne is on a single-man bounty hunt for the man who murdered his wife three years earlier. The obsession with the manhunt has nearly cost Payne his job and all other human companionship, except for those he uses for leads on his wife’s killer.

After the death of her sister, Mona Sax (Kunis) teams up with Payne as evidence points to the murderer being the same person who killed Payne’s wife. Eventually the two track down the killer and uncover a larger conspiracy unveiling more names to be placed on Payne’s list.

One thing this film has going for it is the action. If you get your buzz from metallic bullets, flipping cars and pointless explosions, consider this your Mecca. It by no means invokes heavy eyelids.

The film also has some incredible visual images as well. The video-game feel is not lost on this picture either, but that’s not exactly a good thing.

Payne seems to have a rather unbelievable ability to be immune to, well, everything. Early on, he is the only suspect in two murders. The worst punishment Payne receives is some soft questions by Ludacris (for real). He then continues to avoid more bullets than John Wayne, and when he does get caught by some lead, he is barley fazed.

“Max Payne” runs 100 minutes and is surprisingly rated PG-13 despite violence, strong language and some sexual images. It scores points for action and imaginative images, but loses when it comes to anything believable. It might have you searching through the dark for the reset button.

Grade: C

Opening Today

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The Scoop: Disney looks to have another monster on their hands with this television phenomenon going to the big screen. The Wildcat crew may be graduating at the peak of their pop-culture popularity, which leaves the future a mystery. Not that it would be the first time Hollywood force-fed us a DOA film series: See below.

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