Max Payne (2008)
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A grieving NYPD detective is framed for murder and must navigate the city's criminal underworld to uncover the truth about his family's death.
The story
Max Payne is a detective assigned to the NYPD Cold Case Unit who is consumed by the desire to find the killer of his wife and infant daughter. His life unravels when he is framed for the murder of an acquaintance, Natasha, after his wallet is found at the crime scene. With his former partner slain and Internal Affairs tasked with bringing him in, Max must navigate a web of conspiracy. He teams up with Mona Sax, a freelance assassin, to investigate a connection between Natasha's death and his own family's tragedy, leading them into the dangerous criminal underworld of New York City.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Max Payne, an NYPD detective, seeks revenge for the murder of his wife, Michelle, and daughter, Rose. After being framed for the murder of Natasha, an acquaintance, Max is hunted by Internal Affairs. He joins forces with Mona Sax, an assassin seeking revenge for her sister's death. They discover that Michelle worked for the Aesir Corporation, a pharmaceutical company developing 'Valkyr,' a drug intended to create super-soldiers that caused horrific side effects. Max learns that Jason Colvin, a former supervisor, was involved and agrees to testify if protected. However, Aesir contractors raid the office, killing Colvin. Max then confronts Jack Lupino, a gangster trafficking Valkyr. After a fight where Lupino gains the upper hand, B.B. Hensley, Aesir's head of security, intervenes and kills Lupino. B.B. reveals he killed Michelle for her evidence and tries to drown Max. Max survives by consuming vials of Valkyr, which grant him near-invincibility but cause intense hallucinations. Max returns to Aesir headquarters with Mona, fighting through security to kill B.B. on a helipad. The film ends with Max collapsing in a vision of his family, only to wake up surrounded by a SWAT team. A post-credits scene shows Max and Mona looking at a newspaper featuring Aesir CEO Nicole Horne.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States; Canada
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Moore
- Writers
- Beau Thorne · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Mark Wahlberg · Max Payne; Mila Kunis · Mona Sax; Ludacris · Jim Bravura; Beau Bridges · B.B. Hensley; Kate Burton · Nicole Horne; Chris O'Donnell · Jason Colvin; Nelly Furtado · Christa Balder; Donal Logue · Alex Balder
- Genres
- neo-noir; action; drama; crime
- Themes
- revenge; conspiracy; hallucination; corporate greed
- Tone and mood
- dark; edgy; neo-noir
- Premise and plot tags
- video game adaptation; police procedural; supernatural elements; drug-fueled action
- Source material / true-story basis
- Max Payne video game series
- Franchise connections
- Max Payne
- Content notes
- violence; drug content; sexuality; strong language
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews, with critics citing an illogical plot and overdirection, though it was noted for its stylish action and production design.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 15% · scale: approval rating · review count: 136; Metacritic · score: 31 · scale: 100 · review count: 25; CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F; IGN · score: 7 · scale: 10
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Actor · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film used a high-speed camera technique called 'Boom Vision' to recreate bullet time.; The set for the Aesir Headquarters took eight weeks to build in pre-production.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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