Max Payne

[Spellbound]

Pühapäev on minek

[kigents]

Mul laupäeval.

[LiveForThis]

Mul pühapäeval

[LiveForThis]

http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.p ... 65&count=0

Paistab, et pärast filmi võib rahuliku südamega edasi istuda

[Kidd]

Päevaleht tegi filmi maha, aga mulle meeldis. Tõsiselt sünge film iseenesest, paar küsitavat kohta oli nagu ja lõpp oli jälle väga ette arvatav. Whalbergi aktsiad igatahes tõusid minu silmis.

10/10

[Spellbound]

Päevaleht tegi filmi maha, aga mulle meeldis. Tõsiselt sünge film iseenesest, paar küsitavat kohta oli nagu ja lõpp oli jälle väga ette arvatav. Whalbergi aktsiad igatahes tõusid minu silmis.

10/10

Tore kuulda. Lähen homme siis rahuliku südamega kino poole

[kigents]

Nõustun Kiddiga. Eile just lugesin imdbist ja päevalehest, et päris halb on aga minuarust oli jumala normaalne. Kuigi üks koht oli natuke vigane.
See, kui ta lõpus BB maha lasi, siis oli väga palju lund püssi peal, aga pärasti ei olnud ja veel tuul oli ka kõva, see oleks pidanud lume ära lennutama sealt..

Aga üldiselt oli kenasti sündmused sündmuste otsa aetud ja minu jaoks oli lõpp natuke ootamatu, kuna pole mängu lõpuni teinud.

Aga kokkuvõtteks soovitan ikka vaatamas ära käia erinevalt Päevalehe või imdbi arvamusele.

9.5/10

NB! Jääge ikka tiitrite lõpuni ka sinna. Kui ma käisin jäin ainult üksi sinna istuma.

[Hülss]

Kirjutasin Steami foorumisse, ei jaksa tõlketööd hetkel teha.

A few nights ago I was playing Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. I happened to be in the middle of Part III and I was really enjoying myself. I didn't play it to get back into the story, the characters and whatnot, because this particular film is based on the first game. The next morning I went to see the adaptation of Max Payne. I wasn't sure if this was the wisest decision, because I had read a few negative reviews beforehand. The fact that it had a Metascore of 30, an IMDB rating of 7.7 and 7% on RottenTomatoes (at the time), wasn't that reassuring either, as you can imagine. Despite all that this film is based on a game that is loved by both critics and gamers across the world. A game made by a group of talented Finns and now it's been turned into a motion picture. It was quite a surreal moment when I heard that Mark Wahlberg would be playing the vindictive detective with the constipated face. Even though that announcement made me somewhat hopeful, I wasn't going to set my expectations too high. For more than obvious reasons and especially to us gamers. I mean besides Silent Hill, what other project can you call a legitimate success ? There is none. But is there now ?

Max Payne

a review by supernaut (Hülss)

Breaking the curse

Why do films based on video games turn out to be shit ? It's really no mystery. It depends on whoever is involved with the project. Again using Silent Hill as an example, for the obvious lack of options, why is this particular movie the best game-to-film adaptation so far ? Because the task was given to the right people. In this case, Christophe Gans and especially Roger Avary. These two guys were a strong "foundation" to build on. So far Roger Avary is arguably the most high profiled person who's been involved in adapting a game onto the big screen. As for Max Payne, the director chair was filled by John Moore and the screenwriter gig was offered to a rookie named Beau Thorne. With that in mind, the project was not in for a good start. John Moore hasn't risen above mediocrity with any of his feature films and Beau Thorne ain't got shit to show for, unless he's some "whiz kid" born to be a writer. So what can you expect after that ? Well, in my case I was hoping that Mark Wahlberg could save the day. However, it's always the combination of different factors that make a great movie and Silent Hill was a success in that regard. A solid director, a fantastic writer, a good cast, a superb soundtrack, amazing visual effects and so forth.

The characters

I can't blame Mark Wahlberg for his performance as Max Payne, because honestly, the man hasn't got much to work with. Revenge stories are great, if done well, but in this particular film the character of a mourning cop set out to kill everyone that tries to stop him, feels more like a cliché than anything else. It was like watching End of Days all over again. The same goes for the rest of the cast and characters. The biggest problem here is a bad script, plain and simple. A story and characters with great potential has been misused by an inexperienced writer. I don't see any other explanation for this. The blame can be put on John Moore as well, because his direction doesn't seem to add much to the film. I suppose we can be glad that it's not Uwe Boll at the helm. I really wanted to like this film and to be engrossed in the story, but sadly I didn't feel for the characters, because I didn't connect with them. This is the most common reason why a lot of movies fail. You simply don't care what's happening on the screen and I felt exactly that for the bigger part of the 1 hour and 40 minute length. About 20 or 30 minutes before the end, when Payne took the Valkyr drug, is basically where the movie started for me. The visual effects went into overdrive thanks to Payne's hallucinations and naturally Max went ballistic because of the drug. This is where the movie was exciting and fun, but everything that came before it was poorly constructed. This is essentially a conspiracy story wrapped in a crime drama. The bad guy is the Aesir Pharmaceuticals and it's hounds, along with one of the test subjects, Lupino. B.B., the ex-cop "friend and family" of Max Payne is unfortunately the biggest cliché in these sort of films. It never really works if you have a script as sloppy as this, so this type of character is always transparent. Soon as he walks into the shot, you know who the backstabber is.

The villain

Keeping in mind the Aesir management and their hounds, B.B. being one of them, my only hope for a strong villain lied solely on Lupino. Sadly, this character is another example of wasted potential. Lupino, as a character, receives a build-up in the course of the film, showing that Max would have to deal with this loonatic sooner or later. As you can remember, Lupino was one of the boss battles in the first Max Payne. Someone who was completely insane and hard to take down. In the film he's shown as a menacing figure through various scenes up to the point where he battles Max. This particular scene was one of the most anticlimactic moments I've seen in awhile. A boss battle that was often a pain in the ass, is completely ruined in the film. If you remember the room where we fought him then you can see that the movie doesn't do that locale any justice. The face-off is over too soon and in the most ridiculous way. Also the fight choreography is boring, on top of everything. There's a few moments in Max Payne where different scenes cancel each other out and this was one of the worst. At that moment I felt like punching Beau Thorne in the face, cos my jaw dropped to the floor. Soon after that someone in the audience either farted or blew his nose, which was funny to some people behind me. I'm mentioning this simply because the first hour went by me like an old tractor, with me squirming in my seat from boredom. I was not immersed in the film at all, as you can imagine. It took me at least a hundred bullets to take Lupino down in the fucking game. I'm not talking about realism here. They managed to completely butcher their main villain, because Beau Bridges is simply too fat and old to top that. Lupino, who should've been shown as someone even more crazier, stronger and violent, was in the end written off in a short junkie bar fight. I think they could've done a bit more with that PG-13 rating. Compare this fight to anything we saw in The Bourne Ultimatum, for example. An embarrassing display, that's all I can say. I don't know if you guys have seen a film called 3000 Miles to Graceland, where Kevin Costner's character simply refused to die for a long period while he was being filled with led. I would've wanted to see something like that with Lupino.

More casting

The character of Mona Sax wasn't as important in the first game as she was in the second. With that said, I think they could've used Mila Kunis a little bit more here. With the screen time she did have, she seemed believable in that role. Certainly not perfect, but a job pretty well done considering she usually doesn't play these hardass type of women. The rest is pretty bad though. Starting with Ludacris as Jim Bravura, this wasn't a very good choice, firstly because the character was old and Caucasian in the game. Besides that he ain't much of an actor to begin with. Another example is Nelly Furtado. No seriously, Nelly "Maneater" Furtado. I mean who the hell was the casting agent, really ?! Very few rappers/singers can actually act and give some sort of a contribution to the overall experience. These are weak links no matter how you look at it, someone with more experience could've given a memorable performance, thus raising the overall experience for the better. Thank god I didn't notice any Pepsi ads, Apple computers or iPods in this film. Chris O'Donnell really got the short end of the stick here. This man was pretty big in the 90's if you can remember. A role that could've been a lot more important, was a mere cough in the grand scheme of things. Donal Logue as Alyx was okay, the friendship between Alyx and Max was rather short in the game as well. The role of Alyx had a bigger part in the movie, but in the end it wasn't much. Olga Kurylenko was certainly hot, but so far this woman hasn't really proved her acting skills. Well see how she does in Quantum Of Solace. Both Mila and Olga were born in the Ukraine by the way.

The music

The soundtrack is pretty decent, but Marco Beltrami has done a lot better work than this. One thing that annoyed me was that there's no familiar themes for the fans to recognize. How could they just ignore the main theme for Max Payne, without making any homage to it whatsoever. How 'bout Wahlberg fiddling on the piano. Or perhaps using Poets Of The Fall's Late Goodbye in the credits, for example. The Max Payne 2 Theme Song is especially beautiful and haunting, which could've been perfect for the start of the movie or for the end credits. The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. There was so much potential here, in all aspects and music is no less important in that regard. Just another example of a great opportunity that's been pissed away. No wonder these films get a bad rep, because there's usually not much respect for the source material. That said, there was two songs in the score that caught my attention and I guess that's something to be thankful for.

Game vs film

In the game the story was told in a film noir style using a comic book layout. In the film there's not much left of this. It feels like another action film (with not much action) that we've seen plenty of times. Sin City and Death Sentence feel more like Max Payne than Max Payne. As a side note, this project should've been helmed by Frank Miller as the director and Sami Järvi as the writer. A mediocre director and a beginner screenwriter aren't the best choices to break the curse that's been there since Super Mario Bros. The other sad thing is that Remedy wasn't involved in the project in no shape or form. Sami Järvi (Sam Lake) could've adapted his script for the movie without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately the studios aren't usually concerned by the concerns of gamers. The movie rights for Max Payne were sold even before the first game came out. Might have been the right choice at the time, for the up and coming developer, but in the end a move that sealed the fall of Max Payne on the big screen. This could've easily been the Die Hard trilogy of this generation, if treated with love and respect by the right people. It was seriously lacking in humor as well, if they only knew how to take advantage of the funny moments we saw in the game, among other things. Despite all my problems with it the city looks like the cold and miserable place we experienced 7 years ago. The lighting and the use of colors are great. The never ending snowfall with the city lights in the background, beautiful as ever. One thing the movie does differently is the nightmare or hallucination scenes. In the film the junkies addicted to the drug Valkyr, see these angels of death flying about. These creatures manipulate the victims ever so slightly and drive desperate men and women over the edge, giving them a final push so to speak. Whether they're just hallucinations or dark forces playing the role of The Reaper, is open to interpretation. This was a nice addition to the film and though I was concerned about these winged wraiths when first seeing the trailer, they really didn't bother me in the film at all.

The writing

Despite all the visual tricks these were not enough to re-create the same atmosphere as in the game. There's no reason why I can't be immersed in the film as I was in the game. Films like Silent Hill and Constantine that highly depend on the visual front, also have a good enough story to keep the movie somewhat in balance. This is where the director and writer comes in. The writing in the film doesn't do the game any justice. In a nutshell it's just weak and this can be witnessed in both the story and in Max's monologues, that are few to come by. The dialogue doesn't improve the story either, which is like default text out a screenwriters guidebook. Since this is a different medium, the story couldn't be told in the same way as Payne's monologues in the comic book cutscenes. The few monologues that are in the film were delivered by Wahlberg in a similar manner, but both the monologues and the dialogue didn't come close to the quality in writing we saw in Max Payne, the game. The story itself was way too meager and incredibly linear to even qualify as a consistent crime drama. Watching Max Payne doesn't require much brain activity and I would feel exactly the same way if I had never played the game. It's a real shame when I think about such films as Se7en, The Departed and The Dark Knight for example. Or the Bourne trilogy, which was a great conspiracy story coupled with amazing action sequences. Max Payne just feels like cheap knock-off compared to all of these. There was a lot more potential here, but it was mainly wasted by an inexperienced writer. The story isn't a one-to-one relationship, so the fans have at least something to watch, but to anyone who's played the game there's nothing you won't figure out as soon as you see it.

The summary

I don't expect a good game-to-film adaptation from a Street Fighter or Mortal Combat game, but Max Payne as a source material is strong enough for something more to be build on. This could've been a great action film in the form of the Bourne trilogy or a great crime drama like The Departed. Instead it gets a very slow start and drags heavily for the first hour and when Max Payne takes a whiff of the Valkyr drug then the movie actually starts. The last 20 minutes or so are quite enjoyable, fast paced and fun action. Max Payne is a revenge story, so the last half an hour served that purpose well, but the hour that came before it was a mere shadow of that. Corruption is always a great theme for these films, but this wasn't realized very well in Max Payne. Besides the lack of mystery, there was simply not enough action (bullet-time or not) and humor, that were so important in the game. Even though I've played the game, there's no reason why the team couldn't have catered to a wider audience. I don't see how anyone can enjoy this, to be quite honest with you. It might satisfy someone who's familiar with the series, but to me personally it's just not enough to be even something decent. Leaving the cinema I laughed at the irony, because what I had witnessed on the big screen was The Fall Of Max Payne and to anyone who stayed to the end of the credits could see that there will be a sequel at some point. Whether the cast and team will return for that project is another story, but hopefully we'll see a more mature and consistent package. I don't have much hope for the John Moore's promised Gamer Dedicated Cut for the DVD, because the foundation is just not strong enough for anything to be improved on. Even though the man fought for the movie to get a PG-13 rating, he fails to bring the same quality within those limitations as The Dark Knight or The Bourne Ultimatum, for example. If it were rated R with all of the content untouched, I seriously doubt that the DVD version could make this weak movie any better.

Rating: 4.5/10

EDIT: Tõmbasin hinde punkti võrra allapoole, sest keskpärased filmid mida pärast Max Payne'i näinud on olnud tunduvalt paremad kui see saast.

[LiveForThis]

Max Payne

Ütleks, et üsna hästi oli õnnestunud ära tabada mängudele omane teema, atmosfäär ja üldse selline rusuv õhkkond. Uimasti Valkyr ümber tiirlev vandenõu oli enam vähem sama, mis ka mängudes. Lumetorm nagu esimese mängus oli samuti omal kohal, mis andis koheselt mängule omase tunde.
Kõik mängudele omased elemendid olid kenasti filmi kantud ja asi toimis hästi. Valkyre deemonitel oli päris hea roll filmis. Eriti kui nad asusid Paynet painama.

Mona Saxi kehastanud Mila Kunis sai rolliga hästi hakkama. Ainult üks asi häiris mind tema juures. Nimelt mängu-Mona oli kõvasti karmim kui filmis.

Wahlberg Max Paynena oli täiesti rahuldav. Pole talle mitte midagi ette heita. Ta oligi Max Payne. Võib olla mõned miinused annab tema juures otsida, aga kokkuvõttes tuli tal roll hästi välja.

Aga annaks 8/10

[Spellbound]

Meeldis ja isegi väga. Max Paynele omane sünge ning kurblik atmosfäär oli olemas. Mark Wahlberg sai Payne rolliga kenasti hakkama. Mängust meeldejäänud pidev lumesadu oli samuti olemas. Sisu oli enam vähem sama, mis mängus. Paar asja jäi lahtiseks aga see jääb vist teise filmi jaoks kui see muidugi tuleb. Paar tegelast oli ka ära muudetud aga see oluliselt ei seganud. Valkyre deemonid mängus just sellisel kujul ei olnud aga samas on see hea mõte tuua nad filmis nii välja. Mona oleks võinud natuke rohkem välja paista. Jäi kuidagi kaugele. Mängus oli teda tegelikult kõige rohkem teises. Slow motionit oli kena jälgida. Kui aegluubis taha hüppas ja ühte Lupino meest tulistas ei jäänud muud üle kui hetke nautida
Teema oli ikka sama otsekohene. Üks mees suure korporatsiooni vastu. Ei olnud midagi pikemaks muudetud ehk siis süüdlased said ilma pikema jututa kuuli pähe. Ning nii mõnigi koht oli visuaalset väga hästi tehtud.
Lihtsalt mõnus oli jälgida lemmikmängu tegelast ja tema halastamatut teekonda kättemaksuni.
Annaks 9/10 sest mängu järgi tehtud filmide hulgas on see parimate seas koos paari teisega.

[lostinthemist]

Okei...
Kui ma sellest filmist kuulsin, siis ma tõesti lootsin, et tulekul on hea adaptsioon mängust, sest kui nüüd mõelda mängu peale, siis oli tohutult suur potentsiaal, et valmiks tõeliselt hea adaptsioon; aga kurat, ikkagi, nad lasid projekti põhja.
Ma juba teadsin enne seanssi, et tegemist on suhteliselt kehva adaptsiooniga. Ma ei ootanud, et see nii halb oli.
Esiteks, ma tahan öelda, et visuaalne pool oli tõeliselt hea. Need tulistamised, eriefektid, sealhulgas see stseen, kus Max'i painasid need deemonid, kes nagu rebisid tema maailma koost lahti, oli väga võimas. Atmosfäär oli enam-vähem sama, nagu mängus. Kes hoolikalt jälgis filmi, siis oli igal pool näha neid Valkyr märke. See lumetorm oli kuidagi pehme, mängus möllas ikka väga võimas torm, et lumehelbed lausa tegid haiget, kui näkku lendasid. Ja mis kurat, vahepeal sadas vihma suurel pladinal ?!

Sisu oli ikka mängu omast nii mööda pandud, kuigi vähemalt see vandenõu oli sama. Mängus oli pidevalt kuulda metafooridest pungil monolooge ja lahedaid sarkastilisi one-liner'eid, mis olidki mängu üheks eripäraks; kuid no mida, filmis polnud neid peaaegu üldse. Monoloogi oli ainult alguses kuulda. Eriti cool'i tsitaati oleks vabalt ridade vahele toppida: "What does BB stand for anyway? Back-stabbing bastard?" Mängus üks peamistest elementidest oli hüppamine, filmis oli ainult üks slo-mo jump. Kas on tõesti siis nii raske mängu läbi mängida, enne kui hakatakse käsikirja kirjutama? Isegi mina suudaks parema script'i kirjutada. Mark Wahlberg ja Mila Kunis sobisid oma rollidesse suurepäraselt, kuigi Mila Kunis mulle alguses väga ei istunud. Viimased 20 minutit olid suurepärased!
Ja mida fakki, noor ja mustanahaline Ludacris oli pandud mängima politseiülem Jim Bravurat, kes mängus oli vana ja valgenahaline.
Muusika meenutas mõnes punktis kohati The Dark Knight'i soundtrack'i. Muide, kui seda Natashat tutvustati, siis see meenutas mulle taas The Dark Knight'i.
Stseen pärast lõputiitreid oli väga huvitav ja pani mind saalist lahkuma kavala muigega.
5/10

[gertm]

Mina lootsin sellest filmist natuke rohkem kui sain. Okei, seal oli vaeva nähtud kujundusega, (lumi, tumedad new york'gi tänavad ja süngus) kuid mis minu arvates mis puudu jäi, oli payne'i monoloogid (va. filmi algul paar lauset). Siis oleks võinud olla rohkem bullettime'i ja raju kõmmutamist. Üleüldiselt jättis see film väga halva mulje

[rauls]

Otsutasin ka oma blogis filmist kirjutada: 6,5/10.

[Soprano]

Tundub, et jään oma arvamusega siin vähemusse: 2/10
http://filmsmusic.blogspot.com/2008/10/max-payne.html

[Hülss]

Väga palju ei jää. Viis positiivset nelja negatiivse vastu. Vaatamata sellele, et olin pisut heldel tuulel kui arvustust kirjutasin, ei saaks ma talle alla 4 punkti panna.