Max Payne

Normally, the transition from the little screen to the big screen is awkward at best. In this case going from video game to feature film was not all that bad. Admittedly I had low expectations and have never played any of the Max Payne games. Those who are avid fans of the game may feel different however.

Mark Walhberg is stoic and brooding in this role, which is appropriate. In fact, until the end, he showed almost now emotion at all. Since I have no clue as to how the game character behaves I cannot make that comparison. But I was pleasantly surprised at how this story was told in bits and pieces and we were not given too much information too fast or too slow.

For example we are not told until just the right time about the dark angels who haunt the movie from the beginning. I liked that.

Beau Bridges plays an old family friend with conflicting interests. Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges (no relation) plays a similar character on the other side of the law. Nicely done. Mila Kunis, yeah the voice of Meg Griffin, plays a vague assassin for the Russian mob in New York and factors in more prominently as the movie goes along. Bond girl Olga Kurylenko has a delicious role early in the picture as the sister of the Kunis character and the catalyst that brings Payne and the assassin together. Chris O'Donnell and Donal Logue play interesting characters with too-short screen time.

Watch this movie with someone who has, AND someone who has not played the game, and see how their opinions differ. Let me know?