Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - one of the greatest video games I have ever played. Great story, great graphics, great action and gameplay. When I first heard that Max Payne was (finally) being turned into a movie, I nearly kicked down a door with excitement. The game could definitely lend itself to an incredible movie, if done right. What topped it all off was casting Mark Wahlberg as Max. Anything Wahlberg touches is usually solid gold, even Shooter. I love the guy and I can't wait to see his take on Payne. Beyond that, the lovely "That '70s Show" star Mila Kunis was also cast in it as Mona Sax. Empire caught up with Mila over the weekend and talked with her about the shoot.
Max Payne is about a DEA agent whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy; he ends up getting involved in a gang war that's taking place within New York's criminal underground. Mona Sax is a character who, while not Max's wife, is his tragic love interest. She is a trained assassin who is out to avenge her sister's death and gets caught up in Max's investigation as well. We'll let Mila explain the character more herself, in addition to heaping copious amounts of praise on Wahlberg and the film.
"For anyone who's got concerns about Mark [Wahlberg] playing Max Payne, he's amazing in it. Great actor, great guy," she insists. "I play [an assassin] called Mona Sax who accuses him of murdering her sister and later comes to find out it wasn't him. They kind of get together and try to figure out who was responsible for the murder of his wife and child and her sister."
"The whole film is about realizing that you can go on a revenge spree and get your revenge but it doesn't solve the problem. It's a really great, dark movie. The story actually combines [the games] Max Payne 1 and 2 together. Lots of shooting and gunplay, but what makes this script different is that it's a really dark, sad movie about a man who loses everything and thinks that the only way he can get it back is by revenge. And comes to terms with realizing that he'll never get it back."
I'm very glad she mentions that because that element of the story is exactly what made the game so great! Not that it was so depressing, but rather that the mood of this guy is that he has lost everything, like Frank Castle (The Punisher), but in the end his revenge doesn't him anywhere. IMDb says the script for this was written by Thomas H. Fenton (Striking Point, Saw IV), but all other articles only mention Beau Thorne - who doesn't have any previous writing credits. I'm worried that the script isn't anything too amazing, but hopefully director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, The Omen) finds the better elements of it to bring to life.
I'm holding out and still hoping Max Payne will be a good movie that captures the darker elements of the game. I really don't want this to become this year's Hitman, but I think it's already got some great things going for it - Wahlberg and Kunis to say the least. Max Payne is currently shooting in Toronto. Fox has already set an October 17th release date for this as well.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
