Max Payne is a dark, noirish, nearly perfect action thriller based on the video game of the same name. I had low expectations; I expected it to be marginally less loathsome than last year's Hitman--having little or no redeeming qualities to offset a gratuitous on-screen death toll. But Max Payne does have the redeeming qualities to make it a good movie, actually a great movie within its genre.
The casting choices were quite odd. Sometimes it worked really well (Donal Logue in a small part), other times not so much (Mila Kunis) as a hardcore criminal (to her credit, she does a good job, but it's just such a departure for her). Marky Mark's subdued performance makes the character believable.
It's a good, tight story; there are turns but you anticipate all of them. Visually the movie hits all the right targets: an icy, overcast New York deep in winter, where the only warm tones are in Max's memory.
