Max Payne **

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Chris O’Donnell, Donal Logue, Amaury Noalsco, Olga Kurylenko
Director: John Moore
Running Length: 1:28
MPAA Classification: PG-13

NYPD detective Max Payne (Wahlberg) has worked on cold cases since the murder of his wife and child. He is consumed with trying to find their killer. There aren’t many leads to follow, and most of them are dead ends. Following one up, he meets Mona Sax (Kunis), whose sister may have been murdered by the same killer. With the help of his father’s former partner (Bridges) and an Internal Affairs cop (Ludacris), he finds himself drawn into a drug ring whose leader (Noalsco) sometimes shows almost superhuman qualities.

“Max Payne” is disappointing. It is a case of style over substance, and one can’t help but wish that there was a better story. The most interesting part is seeing the world through the eyes of the drug dealers – a world full of demons and monsters. Unfortunately, the real world part of the movie is less than compelling. Wahlberg seems to be going through the motions here, and Kunis really isn’t given much to do except show up and save the day in a key scene. This is one that you can skip.