Max Payne unfortunately follows an abundance of game-to-film adaptations which seem excellent in premise, but are completely lacking in execution. Favouring style over substance, they leave fans disappointed and critics bewildered.

The story f ollows Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg), a haunted New York cop, assigned to the cold case unit from homicide, upon the murder of his wife and daughter. Through his partner, he discovers the drug Valkyr, a government experimentation designed to bestow super-human strength on its users. From here, Max begins his endeavour to unveil the killers of his family, to avenge their deaths and ultimately, find solace in his life of guilt.

Unfortunately, the source material has been so polluted that the film is nothing more than a tedious 100 minute cliché. There is absolutely nothing fresh or inventive brought to the screen, merely recycled characters and a convoluted plot line revolving around Norse mythology.

Those anticipating the stylish action found in the game, will be incredibly disappointed. There isn’t an action scene of worthy note until over an hour into the film. Max Payne is so caught up in its own plot that it forgets to provide the viewer with anything relatively entertaining.

 Several characters in the film are severely miscast, such as Amaury Nolasco as the especially silly Jack Lupino, or completely under-written, like Mila Kunis as Mona Sax; a pivotal character from the videogame. Mark Wahlberg may have been a perfect choice to portray Max Payne; the New York cop with nothing to lose, but sadly Wahlberg is given absolutely nothing to work with and is resigned to merely looking snarl-faced from beginning to end.

The only saving grace Max Payne has is its visuals. The black and white scenery make for a very moody, if at some points, monotonous film noir style backdrop, comparable at times to the likes of Sin City. It’s just a shame that what takes place within this setting is nothing more than a generic thriller, which will be regarded as nothing more than a missed opportunity and a film to avoid.

 2/5

By Sam Ward

You could be forgiven for mistaking Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a tale of loveable losers Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri’s (Elizabeth Banks) desperate bid to pay the bills with a career in hardcore porn, for the latest offering from the Judd ‘Knocked Up’ Apatow stable. It shares a superficially crass premise that reveals a level of sentimentality we perhaps wouldn’t usually associate with the sight of an overweight man brandishing a lightsaber dildo. But when the opening titles are punctuated by the start-up of a heavy metal soundtrack and an irate driver comically ploughing his car into a white picket fence, Kevin Smith’s (Clerks, Dogma) signature stamp is established.

Smith, wisely retreated to his roots after the critical and commercial mauling of the sappy Jersey Girl, has often struggled to achieve his desired balance between gross-out and sentiment; a juggling act at which Apatow exels. And while Zack and Miri… does occasionally sink into overemotional posturing, it seems that he has found his feet again.

It’s impossible to quote the funniest lines in print that might be read before the 9pm watershed, but it is the frank and often explicit dialogue between the two leads that gets the most laughs. They validate one another through their friendship. Similarities between Zack and Miri and Dante and Randal from Smith’s previous success, Clerks, are obvious. In both cases, Smith deals with a couple of co-dependant underachievers who turn to one another in the absence of financial or spiritual fulfilment. Now, though, he offers his characters a way out and his outlook seems altogether more optimistic.

Smith seems cautious throughout to curb his sentimental tendencies, and although there are at least two notable occasions when he lets this slip, he is successful on the whole. It’s difficult to accuse a film of being overly romantic when its most heart-warming love scene is followed by a porn star relieving her constipation over her cameraman’s face.

There is something here for established fans (such as a Star Wars skit typical of Smith and a sly nod to his old film-making techniques in Zack’s use of his employer’s coffee shop as a set after-hours) and admirers of the current trend for dressing up romantic comedies as gross-out movies. And for everyone else, well, there’s always Seth Rogen and his lightsaber dildo.

3/5

By Jordan Basset

Pride and Glory (PAG) should act as a fast paced thriller, but instead decides to trudge along through its 130-minute running time. Even after several revelations in the film it never really picks up. It takes far too long for the story and characters to be built up.  Ray is given a dark and murky back-story and estranged family that is never developed. This is all despite the fact family plays such a big part in PAG and Ray’s facial scar is always visible. The scriptwriting is hit and miss with only a handful of them being interesting. Too much time is spent showing bent cops argue and abuse their jobs, neither of which is entertaining.

PAG does have a couple of shining moments, Jimmy’s interrogation of criminal Coco made me squirm. I’ve never hated a character so quickly in a film, it’s hard not to give it away but PAG doesn’t resort to a cheap gore film. It’s shocking and shows just how far Jimmy will go to cover his own back. When Ray hunts a suspect PAG seems to speed up; contacts are met, leads are followed and the backstabbing commences. This only lasts for about 20 minutes as PAG decides to focus on family values and police politics.

PAG doesn’t know what to focus on, Ray’s inner struggle with personal and work matters, a gritty and crime infested New York, bent cops or family disputes. It attempts to mix them all but doesn’t succeed. The cast all work perfectly, I even liked Colin Farrell for once; the problem is they have little to work with. The films finale feels like an action film and left me feeling as confused as the film is.

 2/5

By Kiron Ramdewar

Simultaneously, Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), a divorced and effectively single parent, receives a similar phone call after waving her young son off on a music trip. Rachel is told that unless she complies with orders, the train her son is travelling on will be derailed.
As both Rachel and Jerry are quick to learn, their unknown caller has an almost omnipotent control over them, surveying all mobile phones and electronic equipment. The pair is forced to work together, carrying out instructions in order to save both themselves and Rachel’s son.

Based on the novel, All the Troubles of the World, by Isaac Asimov, Eagle Eye contains some great action sequences and is clearly trying to bring into discussion some serious issues; unfortunately any attempt to do so is lost in a needlessly convoluted plot. The actors do their best, but both leads are better than this; Shia LeBeouf is surprisingly good and entirely believable in his role, whilst Michelle Monaghan, who has already shown her ability in smaller roles in Mission Impossible 3 and Gone Baby Gone, shows what she can do in a larger role.

Eagle Eye isn’t terrible, but it’s far from being all that great. Watchable and relatively enjoyable, it’s entirely trashy entertainment. Its major themes (surveillance and the power of technology) have been seen many times before and have been executed in a better way. Ultimately Eagle Eye ends up becoming a myriad of ideas from better films, with nothing original or new to say. Some of the scenes even seem lifted from other films, see 2001: A Space Odyssey, Die Hard 4.0, and The Bourne Ultimatum. Certainly more watchable than the relatively recent action film Wanted, the film is simply let down by its ridiculous plot.

by Siobahn Denton