Max Payne is the story of a detective whose wife and daughter were murdered. Max was just late when it came to saving them so spends his time working on cold cases in the hope that he’ll find a lead.

As a movie it was a decent police mystery with good action scenes. It starts out quite strange and confusing, setting up a threatening looking guy as the villain as we follow Max as he seems to be the only suspect in a murder inquiry. There’s supernatural stuff, lots of Norse references that all end up being explained. Being the suspect leaves him alone, with no police reinforcements as he’s trying to track down answers that don’t seem to be there until the plot unfolds. It then goes full blown action movie as the hero hunts his enemy.

I’ve never played a Max Payne game but I am aware of the connection the series has to Bullet Time slow motion shooting, there are a few scenes in the movie that use it. I’m not sure how much more the film connects to the games. I wouldn’t have known it was a video game connected movie if I hadn’t heard of the old shooter, it just seemed like I expected a movie would.

Personally I think Max Payne (the movie) is quite entertaining. There are some big names in the cast that act the parts in believable enough ways and the run time is short enough that it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. The story is interesting once it starts to make senses and I enjoyed the action. Worth watching at least once.

I’d say if you like the Bourne movies or ones of similar style then you might enjoy this.