Slapping Max (Mark Wahlberg) across the face, the widow (Nelly Furtado) of his ex-partner (Donal Logue) screams, “What has Max Payne done, except brought misery to anyone who ever cared for him?” Audiences who have blasted their way through the viscerally thrilling video game (try not to smile while lighting up some mobsters with a Molotov cocktail, I dare you) might find themselves asking the same question after viewing John (The Omen 2006) Moore’s visually arresting adaptation. No Molotov cocktails here — in fact, Moore has taken one of the more violent games of its day (2001) and transformed it into a bloodless PG-13-rated action noir, the better to attract coveted teen ticket buyers, those savvy enough to realize that an “unrated director’s cut” is but a DVD release away. No longer the undercover DEA agent of the game, Max oversees NYPD “cold case” files. They don’t come much colder than this one. 100 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Chestnut Hill + Suburbs
