The first trailer for the Max Payne movie is out, and holy crap, is it awesome.
While acknowledging that my opinion may be biased by my appreciation of both the Max Payne games as well as movies in which lots of stuff gets blowed up real good, I stand by my statement of awesomeness and will add that this debut trailer has given my faith in the movie’s potential a significant boost. Typical for a movie trailer, it’s composed primarily of quick cuts and high-intensity action, but for what little you can see of him, Mark Wahlberg looks and sounds like a better choice for the titular character than most people expected. Mila Kunis, co-starring as contract killer Mona Sax and regarded by most fans as the weakest link in the chain, only appears for a second, and while she doesn’t speak she does manage to nail the look of Mona in action.
Even more important, however, is the fact that the trailer “feels” right, and touches on all the big Max Payne elements: A dark, Gothic New York wrapped in a winter nightmare, gravelly narration in the cold, dead voice of a man with nothing to lose and lots of graceful, stylized, explosive action. You can’t help but think that whoever made this movie is a fan of the games; it’s still early and there’s plenty of time for things to go wrong, but this early glimpse makes Max Payne look like the kind of movie Max Payne fans would want to see. And holy crap is it awesome.
But don’t take my word for it – check out the trailer yourself on YouTube, and be sure to tell us what you think.
