Max Payne (character)

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Max Payne
Max Payne character
MaxPayneMP3.jpg
Max Payne in a promotional image for Max Payne 3
First game Max Payne (2001) [1]
Created by Sam Lake [2]
Portrayed by
Various
Voiced by James McCaffrey [2] (2001–2012)
Motion capture James McCaffrey (2012)
In-universe information
OriginNew York City, United States
NationalityAmerican

Max Payne is a fictional character who is the titular protagonist of the neo-noir video game series of the same name. Created by and initially modeled after the likeness of Sam Lake, Max was introduced in an eponymous 2001 video game developed by Remedy Entertainment. Max was voiced by James McCaffrey in all his appearances, and was modeled after Lake, Timothy Gibbs and McCaffrey in the series' various instalments; Mark Wahlberg portrayed Max in the 2008 film adaptation of the series. Inspired by the antiheroes of hardboiled fiction, Max is a weary and cynical ex-NYPD officer who becomes a vigilante and uncovers various criminal conspiracies.

Contents

In the original Max Payne, Max is an NYPD police detective and an undercover special agent for the DEA. Max becomes a vigilante following the murder of his family and, later, the murder of his police partner, for which he was framed. In the second game, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne , he returns to the department as a detective and must solve a conspiracy filled with death and betrayal, which has a deep effect on his personal life. At the start of Max Payne 3 , which was developed by Rockstar Games, Max finds himself employed as a bodyguard for Rodrigo Branco, a wealthy businessman in São Paulo, Brazil, but is soon drawn into another conspiracy. The character has been well-received by critics.

Character development

Sam Lake created the character; his face was used in the original Max Payne. Sam Lake.jpg
Sam Lake created the character; his face was used in the original Max Payne .

In the creation of Max Payne, the publisher 3D Realms "wanted to develop another strong character that would be the foundation for a new gaming franchise, much like we [3D Realms] had done with Duke Nukem." The titular character of Max Payne was originally named Max Heat, and 3D Realms spent over $20,000 worldwide trademarking this name before someone at the company suggested the last name Payne, which was immediately adopted. [3] He was modeled after Sam Lake (Sami Järvi), who wrote the game's story and script for the Finnish company Remedy Entertainment. [2] Lake also dressed up and played this role for the graphic novel-style cutscenes. [3] For Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne , however, Lake declined the role. Due to having a much larger budget this time, the developers were able to hire professional actors, choosing Timothy Gibbs to be the new model for Max. [3]

In both games, Max's voice actor was James McCaffrey. [3] McCaffrey recalled: "Originally, I’d worked on a show called Swift Justice , and there were some similarities between the two characters in terms of them both having experienced some family tragedy and were familiar with the concept of vengeance, but there weren't any specific characters that Max is based on." [4] In an early announcement from Rockstar Games (the franchise's new developer and publisher), Max's voice actor was to be recast with an older actor. [5] In the end, however, McCaffrey did return to the role of Max in Max Payne 3 , for which he also provided the motion capture material. McCaffrey said that performing motion capture helped match the dialogue to the scenes and compared it to "having to act in Avatar ." [4] Payne's look changed significantly for the third game, featuring an older, bald and bearded Max; this move received overwhelmingly negative reactions. In response, Rockstar Games made changes to the game, [6] as Max's appearance shifts over the course of the game, including his 'classic' appearance during flashbacks of his time in New Jersey. [7] According to Rockstar's Sam Houser, "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever." [8] McCaffrey compared Max in the third game to Charles Bronson's character Paul Kersey in the film Death Wish . [4]

Attributes

Max Payne has been put into a fatalist situation against his will, in the style of a classic element of many noir films, the fall guy. [3] Max is an antihero, as he himself states: "I was not one of them, I was no hero." The character is noted for his complex use of both metaphors and wordplay to describe the world around him within his inner monologues, which often contradict his external responses to characters he speaks with. [1] He is an extreme introvert and his life is largely illustrated through dramatic and often morbidly cynical soliloquies describing his feelings about his actions and situation. [3] [9] It is also hinted through the games that Max has a questionable grip on reality. [10]

At the beginning of the first game, Max is seen differently as a smiling, happily married extrovert with a bright personality. However, after his family is murdered, Max loses his meaning of life and blindly works toward his only remaining purpose: vengeance. [11] However, he has not nullified his feelings, as he is taken with the femme fatale contract killer Mona Sax when they first meet, and befriends the Russian mobster Vladimir Lem. All the while, Max shows signs of survivor's guilt and self-destructive behaviour, [3] considering his life to have ended "in a New York minute". At the end of the second game, he finally seems to find peace within himself, saying: "I had a dream of my wife. She was dead. But it was alright." [12] However, this is not the case in Max Payne 3 as in the opening cinematic, the drunk Max angrily throws a portrait of what is implied to be his family against his apartment wall. He regrets this act and picks up the picture. [13]

Rockstar vice-president Dan Houser described Max Payne in the third game as "a drunk, somewhat morose, widowed ex-cop, trying to find some kind of peace with himself. [...] A man who has spent his life killing, even in the service of his idea of what is right or wrong, is going to be extremely damaged. [...] He wants to be a thinker but he's much better as a doer. When he thinks, he gets wrapped up in himself or makes mistakes. When he acts, he is brilliant, almost super human. That is his character, and the dichotomy between the two is the reality of his life and at the heart of the game. He cannot seem to move forward emotionally, but physically, he is relentless." [14] Max is shown to be quite aware of his shortcomings and flaws, stating: "I'm not slipping. I'm slipped. I'm a bad joke." [15] Max Payne 3 has him display not only extreme violence but also more restraint than in the previous games. [16]

Appearances

In video games

Max's standard outfit from the first game on display at Game On exhibition in the Science Museum Max Payne clothes.jpg
Max's standard outfit from the first game on display at Game On exhibition in the Science Museum

In the original game, set between 1998 and 2001, Max Payne (voiced by James McCaffrey) is a former New York City Police Department (NYPD) homicide detective whose wife Michelle and six-month-old daughter Rose were brutally murdered in a home invasion connected with the investigation of a new street drug known as Valkyr. Enraged, Max joined the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a secret agent and went undercover in the Mafia. Eventually, framed for the murder of his NYPD and DEA partner Alex Balder, and with his identity exposed, Max becomes a fugitive and vigilante wanted by the Mafia and the police alike while waging his personal war on the crime. Eventually, he discovers a powerful conspiracy behind all these events, and has several interactions with Mona Sax, an assassin. Max makes a deal with the leader of a secret society called the Inner Circle to clear his name in exchange for killing the organisation's former member Nicole Horne; Horne is responsible for the manufacture of Valkyr and also the death of Max's family. After Max kills Horne, he surrenders and is taken into police custody. [3] [16]

Max Payne 2, primarily set in 2003, shows Max returning to the NYPD, having had his named cleared by the leader of the Inner Circle. Max begins investigating a series of murders by a shadowy group of contract killers called the Cleaners, who are trying to kill all members of the Inner Circle. Soon, Max reunites with Mona Sax and solves the mysteries of the Inner Circle, however, the investigation leads to Mona's death. [3] [16]

Max Payne 3, primarily set in 2012, shows Max living in New Jersey, now addicted to alcohol and painkillers, having retired from the police. After a violent mob confrontation, he is forced to flee for the unfamiliar streets of São Paulo, Brazil. Max gets a job working in a security detail for Rodrigo Branco, a wealthy businessman along with Raul Passos who went through police training with Max. [3] After Rodrigo's wife is kidnapped, Max and Raul discover and then destroy a human organ harvesting ring involving local street gangs, right-wing vigilante militas and a corrupt Brazilian police tactical unit. [16]

In film

In the film adaptation, loosely based on the plot of the first game, Max Payne (played by Mark Wahlberg) is a NYPD cop seeking revenge against his family's killers. [1] When Mark Wahlberg first read Beau Thorne's script he thought it was "awesome" but became wary after finding out it was based on a video game. [17] [18] Describing his role, Wahlberg said: "It's probably one of the edgier roles I've played but also the most layered. Here's a very happy guy who worked a dismal job, had a beautiful family. But the beauty in his life was taken away. He just goes on a rampage. It's all driven by emotion." [19] 3D Realms' Scott Miller, however, said Max Payne was poorly portrayed in the film, falling short of the game's standards. [20] [21]

Other appearances

A three-issue Max Payne 3 tie-in digital comic, created and released in partnership between Rockstar Games and Marvel Comics explores Max's early years and the events prior to the third game in the series. Max was born to Helen and Jack Payne. Max's father was a PTSD-suffering Vietnam veteran who cheated on and sometimes beat his wife. An important influence on the boy was his maternal grandfather; a college professor who would tell him stories of ancient mythology. Helen died in 1976, possibly due to her alcoholism; Jack's death followed three years later. As a young man, Max graduated from the New York City Police Academy as the top trainee in his class. Several years later, he met his future wife Michelle while saving her from two robbers. They married six months later and their daughter, Rose, was born on February 4, 1998. [22]

In 2012, several sets of Max Payne's Xbox Live Avatar clothes from the original game were released by Rockstar on the Xbox Live Marketplace. [23] Max Payne 3 Special Edition was bundled with a 10" tall collectible Max Payne statue made by TriForce. [24] According to an Easter egg in Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake , Max died in 2016, thirteen years after the events of Max Payne 2. [2] However, this is not canonical, as the rights to the series have moved to Rockstar Games. In Rockstar's 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V , players can customize one of the protagonists, Michael De Santa, to look like Max in Max Payne 3. [25]

Reception

Max Payne has been positively received in video game journalism. Following the release of the first game in 2001, he was named the year's best game character by Eurogamer . [26] While considering the game itself to be "relatively mindless", PC Zone considered Max's character to be the highlight, commenting: "He might be a film noir cliché, but Max Payne is a relatively unique specimen in games, with a superb script and suitably smooth voice acting to match." [27] Max has also been polled by the public in lists of the top video-game characters of all time, [28] [29] with Gulf News attributing his popularity with fans to "his no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners attitude." [30] In 2012, IGN described him as gaming's "most notorious antihero", [31] and in an article covering the character's history, The Escapist opined that even the character's creators underestimated the ongoing appeal of Max, calling him a "uniquely American mix of modern action and classic noir" whose "constant struggle feels timeless." [3] Max is included in many video game journalism articles ranking characters by various traits, ranging from manliness to lucklessness. [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

Max's dynamic with Mona Sax has also been well received. Tom Macnamara from IGN praised the "star-crossed love story" between Max and Mona as a great addition to Max Payne 2. [37] Also noting the atypical relationship between a police officer and an assassin, in 2011 GamesRadar considered the couple to have one of the most "disastrous game romances". [38] The sex scene between the couple in Max Payne 2 was described by GamePro as "one of the most fitting ever seen in a video game," considering it to lack the gratuitousness that most sex scenes in video games exhibit. [39]

The character's initial design changes during the long development cycle of Max Payne 3 brought severe criticism from the fan community as well as the media; [40] [41] [42] [43] UGO commented that "his suave, noir look got booted by trailer trash sensibilities" and blamed Obadiah Stane, Bam Bam Bigelow, John McClane and Kerry King for being "most responsible for Max's new style." [44] Keith Stuart of The Guardian opined that, with the third game, Rockstar succeeded in turning "its ex-cop anti-hero into a credible character," even as there is a "slight disconnect between the shambling Max of the cinematic sequences and the athletic psychopath we control in the interactive sections." [45]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Max Payne</i> (video game) 2001 third-person shooter video game

Max Payne is a 2001 third-person shooter game developed by Remedy Entertainment. It was originally released for Windows by Gathering of Developers in July 2001, and was later ported by Rockstar Games to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in December 2001, and by MacSoft and Feral Interactive to Mac OS X in July 2002. A version of the game for the Game Boy Advance, featuring an isometric perspective but retaining most of the original's gameplay elements, was released by Rockstar in December 2003, and an enhanced port for mobile devices was published in 2012 to coincide with the release of Rockstar's Max Payne 3. A Dreamcast version of the game was also planned, but was canceled due to the discontinuation of the console in 2001. Max Payne was also made available on Xbox 360 as part of Xbox Originals program in 2009, on PlayStation 3 as a PS2 Classic in 2012, on PlayStation 4 in 2016, and on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2021, due to the consoles' respective backward compatibility and emulation features.

<i>Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne</i> 2003 video game

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a 2003 third-person shooter game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sequel to 2001's Max Payne and the second game in the Max Payne series. Set two years after the events of the first game, the sequel finds Max Payne working again as a detective for the New York City Police Department (NYPD), while struggling with nightmares about his troubled past. After being unexpectedly reunited with contract killer Mona Sax, Max must work with her to resolve a conspiracy filled with death and betrayal, which will test where his true loyalties lie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James McCaffrey (actor)</span> American actor (1958–2023)

James Perry McCaffrey was an American actor best known for his voice role as Max Payne in the Max Payne video game series, Jimmy Keefe on Rescue Me (2004–2011), and Captain Arthur O'Breun in New York Undercover (1994–1997). He also had main roles and recurring roles in a number of television series as well as appearing in feature films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar Toronto</span> Canadian video game developer

Rockstar Toronto is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Oakville, Ontario. The company was established as Imagexcel in the early 1980s and developed more than fifteen games under that name, including Quarantine, which was published by GameTek in 1994. The publisher bought the studio's assets through its Alternative Reality Technologies subsidiary in March 1995 and then sold Alternative Reality Technologies to Take-Two Interactive in July 1997. The studio became part of Take-Two's Rockstar Games label as Rockstar Canada in 1999 and was renamed Rockstar Toronto in 2002 when Take-Two acquired Rockstar Vancouver. Under Rockstar Games, the studio developed the 2005 game The Warriors, based on the 1979 film of the same name, as well as several ports, including the Windows versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Max Payne 3, and Grand Theft Auto V. In July 2012, Rockstar Vancouver was merged into Rockstar Toronto, which then moved into larger offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Lake</span> Finnish video game writer and director

Sami Antero Järvi, better known by his pen name Sam Lake, is a Finnish video game writer and director. He is the creative director at Remedy Entertainment, known for his writing on the popular Max Payne video game series, and Alan Wake.

<i>Max Payne 3</i> 2012 video game

Max Payne 3 is a 2012 third-person shooter game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 15, 2012; a Windows port was released on May 29, 2012, followed by an OS X port on June 20, 2013. It is the sequel to Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne and is the third entry in the Max Payne series. It is also backwards compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

<i>Bully</i> (video game) 2006 action-adventure video game

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Houser</span> English video game producer (born 1971)

Sam Houser is an English video game producer. He is a co-founder and the current president of Rockstar Games, and is one of the creative driving forces behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, having been its producer since the third game. His brother Dan was Rockstar's vice president of creativity until 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar New England</span> American video game developer

Rockstar New England, Inc. is an American video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Andover, Massachusetts. Ian Lane Davis founded the company as Mad Doc Software in November 1999 after working as a technical director for Activision. The studio worked with Activision on Star Trek: Armada before leading the development of its sequel, Star Trek: Armada II. Starting in 2002, Mad Doc was the principal developer of the Empire Earth series, developing two games and two expansions. While the successful Empire Earth II landed the company publishing contracts with Rockstar Games and Bethesda Softworks, Empire Earth III was a critical and commercial failure and led to the end of the series. Mad Doc developed Star Trek: Legacy for Bethesda Softworks and Bully: Scholarship Edition for Rockstar Games. After the latter was released in March 2008, Rockstar Games's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, bought Mad Doc and integrated it with Rockstar Games as Rockstar New England. Under Rockstar Games, the studio worked on a sequel to Bully until its developers were reallocated to projects like Max Payne 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar London</span> British video game developer

Rockstar London Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in London. Mark Washbrook established the company in November 2005 within Rockstar Games' European publishing offices. The studio's first game was Manhunt 2, which it took over from Rockstar Vienna after that studio was shut down in May 2006. Rockstar London later developed Midnight Club: L.A. Remix and co-led the development of Max Payne 3. Washbrook left the company in January 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar Vancouver</span> Canadian video game developer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar Advanced Game Engine</span> Proprietary game engine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona Sax</span> Fictional character in the Max Payne franchise

Mona Sax is a character in the neo-noir media franchise Max Payne, where she represents the femme fatale archetype. Mona is a mysterious contract killer in a dangerous relationship with the series' titular protagonist, the policeman-turned-vigilante Max Payne. The character was portrayed by Kathy Tong and voiced by Julia Murney and Wendy Hoopes in the video games, and was played by Mila Kunis in the film adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Houser</span> English video game producer (born 1973)

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<i>Max Payne</i> (film) 2008 American film

Max Payne is a 2008 neo-noir action film based on the video game series of the same name developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Rockstar Games. Directed and co-produced by John Moore and written by Beau Thorne, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as the title character, Mila Kunis as Mona Sax, Ludacris as Jim Bravura, and Beau Bridges as B.B. Hensley. The film revolves around revenge, centering on the New York police detective as he journeys through New York City's criminal underworld while trying to learn the truth behind the murder of his wife and child.

Max Payne is a neo-noir third-person shooter video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment and Rockstar Studios. The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York City police detective turned vigilante after his family was murdered by drug addicts. The first two installments were written by Sam Lake, while Max Payne 3 was primarily written by Rockstar Games' Dan Houser.

<i>Grand Theft Auto V</i> 2013 video game

Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, and the fifteenth instalment overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three protagonists—retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street gangster Franklin Clinton, and drug dealer and gunrunner Trevor Philips, and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. Players freely roam San Andreas's open world countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.

Development of <i>Grand Theft Auto V</i> Development of 2013 video game

A team of approximately 1,000 people developed Grand Theft Auto V over several years. Rockstar Games released the action-adventure game in September 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in April 2015 for Windows, and in March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The first main Grand Theft Auto series entry since Grand Theft Auto IV, its development was led by Rockstar North's core 360-person team, who collaborated with several other international Rockstar studios. The team considered the game a spiritual successor to many of their previous projects like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. After its unexpected announcement in 2011, the game was fervently promoted with press showings, cinematic trailers, viral marketing strategies and special editions. Its release date, though subject to several delays, was widely anticipated.

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