Mark Wahlberg’s 2008 Video Game Adaptation Slammed By OG Producer As He Expresses Hopes For A New Movie: “A Blown Opportunity”

Producer Scott Miller slams Mark Wahlberg’s 2008 movie adaptation of the video game series Max Payne, but also expresses hope for a better rendition of the story in the future. Considered one of the worst video game movies ever made, Max Payne is a loose adaptation of the Remedy Entertainment, and later Rockstar Studios, game series of the same name. While both stories follow the titular Max as he hunts down those responsible for the murder of his family, the movie has been critically panned, earned a 16% on Rotten Tomatoes in the process.

Now, Miller, who acted as a producer on the original video game series, has slammed the Wahlberg-led adaptation of Max Payne, but also offered hope the movie could be remade into something better.

In the above post, the producer explained how he sent many notes to FOX following the movie’s release, especially critical of the number of changes to Max’s character in the film. He hopes that someday a remake can be produced with the right level of insight from those who worked on the games.

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Alongside his hopes for a potential future movie remake, Miller also revealed he’ll be releasing scenes from the original script at some point in the future. This highlights his belief in a possible adaptation, while also offering scenes that prove the movie could be made correctly with the right level of accuracy to the source material. Given the rising popularity of video game adaptations, including successful films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and anticipated ones like the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the Hollywood environment might be right to revisit Max Payne.

If a Max Payne movie were to be made today, the success of previous video game adaptations in recent years could result in more close collaboration between Hollywood and video game producers. The result would likely involve a movie that’s more in line with how the game portrays the character, alongside a neo-noir story that keeps a similar presentation style to the early games. Since there’s already a story in the games that can be used as a blueprint, it wouldn’t be out of the question to rip it from the source material and put it onto the big screen.

Since the Max Payne game is getting remade by Remedy in the coming years, it wouldn’t be surprising if a movie adaptation was also employed to introduce the character to a wider audience. However, there would need to be significant interest in the film coming to life in spite of Wahlberg’s movie getting negative reviews. The success of the film would likely depend on it being accurate to the original, utilizing a script more aligned with Miller’s vision than that of the original movie.

Source: Scott Miller/Twitter

Max Payne

2.5

Based on the action game series of the same name, this neo-noir action thriller follows the titular detective, Max Payne, as he delves into New York City’s criminal underbelly to solve and avenge the murders of his wife and child.

Director

John Moore

Release Date

October 17, 2008

Studio(s)

20th Century

Distributor(s)

20th Century

Writers

Beau Thorne

Cast

Mark Wahlberg , Mila Kunis , Beau Bridges , Ludacris , Olga Kurylenko

Runtime

100 minutes

Franchise(s)

Max Payne

Budget

$35 million

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