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This one came out of left field! Mark Wahlberg will star as Max Payne in a live-action adaptation of the video game to be directed by John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, and The Omen). The video game is a bestselling hit from Rockstar that first debuted in 2001 and followed up with a sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, in 2003. The game is a third-person shooter noir crime thriller and is one of my all-time favorite games, so without a doubt I’m already looking forward to this.

Max Payne is a cop who is haunted by the tragic loss of his family and has little regard for rules as he investigates a series of mysterious murders. He finds himself up against an adversary bent on destroying Max and the streets he protects. The game used bullet-time as well as a noir and comic like feel to it, which will lend itself great to a film adaptation. The script was written by newcomer Beau Thorne. The film will go into production immediately after Wahlberg finishes The Lovely Bones with Peter Jackson, meaning yet another pre-strike movie.

 

Where I’m confused here is that Marky Mark has consistently stated that he won’t join films that don’t have incredible scripts. He won’t even do a sequel to The Departed because he think it won’t be as good as the first one! Yet he’s joined this, with a director who has had consistent tentpole crap films? I’m confused, am I missing something here? As much as I really, really want this to be great, I just fear for the worst.

I can tell you the path to success with Max Payne is to base it very strictly off of the video game, almost like Zack Snyder and 300 (with its exact frame-to-frame comparisons from the source material). It really needs that Sin City visual style and Matrix flair for it to really succeed. Without it, I can tell you it’s a guaranteed flop. And honestly, Moore is not the best guy for the job. Damn, why can’t the good directors be available more often!

 

Source : FirstShowing