Max Payne
20th Century Fox
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis
Directed by John Moore

MANILA, Philippines—Midday through the movie, in a scene spoiled by the trailer, Max Payne jumps backwards, contorting his body like an inverted letter “U” to shoot at a thug taking aim at him in slow-motion bullet time.

It’s a move no sane person would attempt in real life, but it’s perfect game logic. It’s also the weakest scene, and the only use of bullet time, in what is otherwise the best movie adaptation of a video game. Those who feared this would be another “Doom,”—or, worst-case scenario, “Super Mario Brothers”—can rest easy.

“Max Payne” does not follow the exact plot of the video game with the same name. It drops an angle involving the Russian mob, but it’s close enough that the uninitiated will not feel lost and the diehards won’t get lost.

The titular Payne (Mark Wahlberg) is a homicide detective in New York who lost his wife and infant child in a violent home invasion. Payne’s existence since has been devoted to identifying the third robber in the killing, a path that embroils him in a plot involving a brand new drug named Valkyr and the people responsible for creating and distributing it.

Perpetual gloom

If the video game married John Woo action films and the bullet time sequences of “The Matrix,” the movie is more “Sin City” meets “Constantine” visually.

Director John Moore (2006’s “Omen” revival, “Flight of the Phoenix”) and cinematographer Jonathan Sela make good use of snow and rain and shadows to drench Payne in a perpetual gloom. But while the tone is dark, the action scenes are particularly vivid and unobscured; there are no frenetic quick-cuts or shaky camera work here, thankfully.

The problem is that the plot is lacking in the “twist” department. Payne spends a third of the movie trying to clear his name after being implicated in the death of his former partner, who died before telling Payne of the link between his wife’s murder and Valkyr. But the audience, fans of the game or not, can quickly piece together the full plot on their own (although there were audible gasps of surprise at one point).

Things aren’t helped out by the fact that the acting barely registers on anyone’s radar.

Wahlberg, who is leagues better here than in “The Happening,” is stoic as the script dictates, but it’s a role that could have been easily played by someone like Matt Damon.

His supporting cast is not any better. Amaury Nolasco (“Prison Break”) is big, tattooed and leers a lot. Rapper Ludacris plays a stereotypical Internal Affairs cop stereotypically. Chris O’Donnell (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is so blubbering that I didn’t even know it was him until the credits rolled.

Finally, Mila Kunis (“That 70’s Show”) offers a chicken-or-egg question: did she ask for the role of Mona Sax, assassin and love interest of Payne, to be toned down because she looks uncomfortable at best in every scene with a gun? Or was the fact that the character was toned down in comparison to the video game the reason why she took the role?

Above average

And yet, the film somehow works, and the whole manages to elevate itself beyond the sum of its parts. The added spiritual element, a visual display of the effects of Valkyr, is not in the video game and could have been a big turn-off.

Instead, it’s a wrinkle that adds depth to what would otherwise be an ordinary entry in the suspense genre. And at the risk of repeating myself again, this movie has some of the best shot action scenes in a long time. They’re paced properly, and the audience sees just enough to digest and appreciate what’s going on.

In all, “Max Payne” pushes all the right buttons and hits all the head shots. The result is a movie that will appeal to all but the most rabid of fans, and casual newcomers alike.

For an action movie, it’s clearly levels above average. For a video game adaptation, though, it’s definitely hall-of-fame material, and should be the new standard used to judge other such adaptations.