Usually when evaluating a movie like this I look at the writer/director team.
The writer is an unknown who has never written anything before (at least according to IMDB). The director has directed three things prior that I'd like to point out:
1. Behind Enemy Lines - While I'm not a huge Owen Wilson fan, this movie was pretty heart pounding and intense. This is a good thing for the director of Max Payne to be able to handle. A definite plus.
2. Flight of the Phoenix - Yeah, yeah, Dennis Quaid can't act. However, what was fantastic in this very well done remake (and I say that as a die hard fan of the original with Jimmy Stewart) was the cinematography. Did Moore (the director) call in this guy?
No. He called in the guy who shot the next movie I wanna mention:
3. The Omen - remake whores unite! I loved the original and was genuinely terrified by it. This one . . . made me laugh. It was remarkably true to the original, even duplicating specific shots, but it never once stepped forward to own this interpretation. It was almost as if the studio simply chose to shoot the EXACT SAME MOVIE as opposed to using computer to "Lucas-ize" the original.
This is a black mark.
However, it's possible that it'll be awesome - the trailers look badass.
One final thing that's typically a make or break for me: run-time.
Max Payne comes in at . . . (insert drumroll here) . . . 99 minutes.
Eh. I personally have issues with the story development in a movie that's less than 2 hours long, but it's not impossible to have a FANTASTIC move within the above time frame.
Wait, what's that? They've cut it down from R to PG-13? NO! That means anything that was sacrificed either wasn't key to the story (and as such the writer should be shot for not doing a good job) or else was and will turn it into a shallow flick as opposed to a film that actually explores the character (call it the Chronicles of Riddick syndrome). So what's the run-time for the heavily edited version?
86 minutes.
There are Disney movies longer than that! THIS is the thing that makes my hopes and dreams for this movie die a horrendous death. I'll still go see it, but I go in with my expectations drastically shot to hell.
