It shouldn't really work like this. But the temptation of an easy pay cheque is always too much for Hollywood to ignore and so Max Payne comes along, another in a seemingly endless line of movies based on video games.

But video games, by their very nature, never need much of a 'story'' to sustain them. And that's where Max Payne falls apart.

Granted, the visual effects look good and Mark Wahlberg is a master at playing an enraged brute. But it's impossible to care about characters seemingly cut from cardboard and this film is an almost criminal waste of Mila Kunis' talents.

Wahlberg plays a cop out for revenge after his family is slaughtered, a lone gun in the Chow Yun-fat mode, complete with a pistol that refuses to empty and a natty coat that seems to save him from any bullets that might come the other way.

He blasts his way into dealings with a drug cartel and a rather nasty pharmaceutical company - and whenever things start to run out of steam, we are thrown into flashback mode, complete with misty lighting and soft focus.

Visually, it's at times quite stunning. But the facile scripting and a final third that pushes the boundaries of believability - even for something based on a video game - will leave you scratching your head.

Extras: Audio commentary (with director), making-of special, animated graphic novel, uncut version.