There is a great deal of difference between what makes a video game successful and what makes a movie successful. Those who remember both playing and sitting through "Super Mario Brothers" (the first such adaptation) learned this lesson quickly. Hollywood has yet to catch on.
For any Hollywood insiders paying attention, here are few pointers:
A successful movie benefits from a compelling story. The general plotline of "Max Payne" involves a police officer seeking to track down a man who was involved in the murder of his wife and infant child. This is a reasonably workable place to start. Unfortunately, the skin that is hung on these bones is thin at best. Screenwriter Beau Thorne, in his inaugural effort, only occasionally attempts to explain the motivations of his antagonists and such explanations do very little to move story. An action movie may not always require deep examinations of the underlying psychoses of its villains, but the lazy detailing that Mr. Thorne provides should be criminal.
A successful movie requires good visuals. In this, "Max Payne" succeeds. Director John Moore ("Behind Enemy Lines") does a very nice job of creating the atmosphere that the situation requires. He imbues New York with a nicely depressing mix of grey, wet, and cold, but manages to stop short of being overly stylish or cartoonish. His spare set pieces also create a sense of emptiness and despair that is deserving of what this story could have been. Sadly, sound mixer Glen Gauthier ("A History of Violence") did not bring a similarly deft hand to the project. Rather than underlining what was going on on the screen, his bombastic use of the soundtrack completely distracted from the action sequences, creating discomfort rather than excitement or tension.
A successful movie requires good acting. Mark Wahlberg ("The Departed"), playing the title role, delivered the flat performance that is to be expected of him by now, but also made sense for the character. Mila Kunis ("That 70's Show"), conversely, was completely lost. Obviously unsure of what her motivation was supposed to be she spent the movie trying on characters, none of which were convincing. As to the rest (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Chris O'Donnell, Beau Bridges), they were so poorly utilized that they came off as little more than walking plot-points.
The real shame of "Max Payne" is that it clearly had the potential to be much better than it was. Put in the hands of a more competent screenwriter, this director and cast, for the most part, had the potential to turn out a decent action movie. Mr. Thorne just gave them very little with which to work.
