"I don't believe in Heaven, I believe in Payne…"

Video game to big screen adaptations are invariably hit or miss affairs, critics tend to hate them, fans of the game get upset if plot details are changed and even the actors rarely seem to 'get' the character they are playing.

Having been an avid gamer since the days of Pong and ZX Spectrum, and having played and enjoyed both Max Payne (on PS2) and the follow up (on PC) I was really hoping that the filmmakers and Mark Wahlberg would do Max justice.

The Max Payne games were multi-format cult classic run and gun mysteries that implemented an impressive 'bullet-time' slow down that was completely borrowed from The Matrix but worked so well that it never failed to put a massive grin on my face.

Twentieth Century Fox picked John Moore (who already has a debt to Satan for making The Omen '06 so average) to direct the film; he's a guy who adheres to the 'style over substance' school of film making and that is how he tackles Max Payne.

The hard-boiled noir look of the film is a stunning achievement – hypnotic hyper-stylised snow swirls in a constant poetic backdrop, the city is a wonderful bleak metropolis a la Sin City and Wahlberg's constipated frown is a dead ringer for the videogame Payne.

Production values are high across the board and even the slightly wacky hallucinogenic visions of Norse Valkyrie demons are rendered effectively.

Then there are the babes, sultry assassin Mona Sax (Mila Kunis), and a sizzling cameo by new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko who wears a mean red dress - so far, so good.

But there's always a downside and here it's the plot, which brings the payne (sorry).

The cast are average at best, Beau Bridges hams up his role of Payne's former partner like his family will be killed if he in any way manages to look convincing, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges shows that he should stick to rapping as he sleepwalks around looking confused and Chris O'Donnell, Donal Logue, and even Nelly Furtado round off the oddball assembled 'talent'.

If you're prepared to let a fairly dull plot wash over you whilst you enjoy the visual stylings and occasional flash of action then step right up, otherwise Payne is simply going to be another 'failed' videogame adaptation.

Perhaps a PS3 Max Payne 3 might redress the balance because it would be a shame for the film to have taken Max to a watery grave of averageness.