Crooked cops, a science experiment gone bad, and two “good guys” that are more than just a little easy on the eye come together to make “Max Payne” a success.

Adapted from the popular game, director John Moore effectively translated Max Payne’s adventure into a movie when the potential to do it wrong was huge.

The original game was first released in 2001 for Windows and then later developed by Rockstar Games for Xbox and Playstation 2. The game has an enormous fan following, with the Max Payne franchise selling over 7 million copies by early 2008.

Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) joins the DEA after the tragic death of his wife and newborn. He is intent on tracking down the third murderer and won’t rest until he does. The plot thickens as the true motives of his wife’s former employer, pharmaceutical company Aesir, come to the surface. The company tries to hide its failed drug Valkyr, which was designed to increase the stamina in fighting soldiers but instead produced crazed fiends. The drug continues to be distributed underground and Payne begins to understand how the experiment-gone-wrong led to his own family’s tragedy.

Moore couldn’t have chosen a better cast to bring characters of a video game to the big screen. Recently starring in the hit comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Mila Kunis switches gears to play the edgy Mona Sax, who teams up with Payne to go after her sister’s murderers. It’s easy to forget her bubbly personality when she’s wielding a semi-automatic and delivering some serious sass.

Wahlberg is fueled by the murder of his wife and baby and plays the role to perfection. He convinces the audience that Payne really is a good guy helplessly thrown into a bad situation. It’s his duty to bring justice to his slain family and Wahlberg delivers just the right amount of passion and toughness to bring Payne’s character to life.

As a bonus, musical stars Nelly Furtado and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges are part of the cast as well. Furtado has a brief role as Christa Bolder, the wife of Payne’s best friend. Bridges gets more screen time playing the role of Jim Bravura, an internal affairs agent within the DEA assigned to investigate Payne. While so many music stars are quick to jump on the movie train these days and fail miserably, the two deliver great performances.

Chris O’Donnell was definitely the weak link in the cast and should’ve stayed in the Bat Cave. As the right-hand man of Aesir CEO Nicole Horne (Kate Burton), O’Donnell fails at anything close to a strong performance. Moore could’ve paid someone much less to play the pathetic part, who is laughably in charged of protecting Aesir’s secret.

While the film’s plot is similar to Payne’s adventure in the game, big-time fans might be a little disappointed by the lack of gunpoint showdowns and gore. With a PG-13 rating, the violence is minimal and Moore focuses on the movie’s plot more than the characters’ brawls. However, special effects like the Valkyrites’ drug-induced hallucinations are beyond well-done and the dark and menacing scenes will exceed the expectations of those who go in with them. Plus, the “bullet-time” (slow-motion of the bullets) used in the game will definitely satisfy fans’ hunger.

The film will not only please those familiar with the game but it’s probably not far off to say that those who have never even touched a game console will enjoy it even more.

Those that already know the ending will be kept in suspense with Moore’s cleverly added twists and turns. The rest of the audience will take pleasure in the anticipation as Payne tears through the city, trying to get to the bottom of his family’s murder.

Casey Kirk can be reached at [email protected]