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An action flick inspired by a video game seems to be the
perfect formula for a top spot at the North American box office. “Body of Lies”
may not have been able to outshine the pampered pooch from Beverly Hills, but “Max Payne” can’t possibly
fail; he’s a high-class cop. The film starring Mark Wahlberg managed to lure
most moviegoers, thus grossing $18 million throughout the weekend, enough for a
No. 1 debut, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
Impersonated by Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg, Max
Payne is a cop locked in a world of pandemonium, torment and hopelessness. He
is determined to avenge the murders of his wife and daughter and this mission
of retaliation, which lingers in his head, opens him a path most of us would walk
off immediately.
Mila Kunis fills the bloody shoes of Mona Sax, a Russian
assassin who is also seeking for revenge. She wants to find the murderer of her
sister, Natasha, played by Olga Kurylenko, and would do anything to punish him.
Max Payne knows Natasha as well, as she stole his wallet and
investigators want answers from him, but he is unable to give them any detail
upon the woman’s death.
In the meantime, these acts of violence are being looked
into by internal affairs detective Jim Bravura (rapper Chris “Ludacris”
Bridges), who also keeps an eye on Max Payne and becomes suspicious of the cop.
Close to death, Max Payne is motivated by an apparition of
his late wife and child. Since she specifically tells him, “You’re not done yet,”
the avenging cop gathers all the force he needs to escape from the hands of
death. While he is trying to regain his self-control, Max Payne takes a drug
called Valkyrie, which gets in his possession as a result of a plotted scheme arranged
by the bad guys, evidently. Therefore, the drug takes Payne to the dreadful criminal
world that has robbed him of everything he had.
Oliver Stone’s heavily discussed “W.” proved that all the
fuss and buzz around it was much ado about nothing, as it did not succeed in
drawing too many viewers. In fact, the film depicting the life of sitting U.S.
president George W. Bush, impersonated by Josh Brolin, took in only $10.6
million and opened at No. 4.
In Oliver Stone's movie, Brolin gives
life to an emotionally scarred man, struggling to make his mark and overcome
his complexes, thus rendering very clear the director's attempt to also show George W. Bush
the man and not only George W. Bush the president in his latest work.
While the director
chose to match a face to Bush’s story, his choice (Josh Brolin, that is)
manages to match a soul to a controversial figure believed by many to be
numb-hearted via his role as the lead character in “W.”
“Beverly Hills
Chihuahua’s” box office reign may
have ended, but the story about talking dogs did not slip more than one
position and claimed the second spot with $11.2 million, barely surpassing “The
Secret Life of Bees,” which earned $11.1 million and landed on the third
position.
Moviegoers did not consider teen sex comedy “Sex Drive” very tempting
as the film opened only at No. 9 with $3.6 million, followed by “Nights in
Rodanthe,” with $2.7 million.
Last week’s top 12 productions managed to gross a total of
$86.4 million, which represents a 10 percent increase compared to the same
weekend last year.
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