Adapting video games into films is perhaps one of the craftiest feats ever, and it’s even trickier for the said silver screen venture to thrive, which only a handful have managed to do in the history of cinema.

So, it’s not much of a shocker that Max Payne ended up falling prey to harsh criticism and had a poor box office run too, because as much as Mark Wahlberg tried to maintain the noirish tone of the video game, it failed to do justice to the original content.

It was almost as if the film had chewed up the game and spit out its sordid remnants in return. But what the 20th Century Studios production did get right, was the limitless gunplay.

Max Payne – the video game

Max Payne Featured One of the Goriest Gunfights of All Time

Rockstar Games’ Max Payne has always been a video game of violent nature, the grimness and savagery of which is well known to its devoted players.

So, despite John Moore’s big-screen adaptation completely botching its true essence, the movie did make ends meet as far as the violence was concerned. In fact, the action/crime film starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis is known to have perhaps one of the most vehemently brutal shootouts ever.

Max Payne (2008)
The film, which utilized an array of different areas in Toronto for shooting, took one entire week to just get done with the final gunfight scene that takes place in the Aesir Pharmaceuticals building.

For that one shot alone, the crew used more than 6,000 bullet-hit squibs, which is just a fancy term for a special effect that simulates a gunshot wound but is a record-breaking achievement nonetheless.

Since the studio had its eyes set on a PG-13 rating, Moore, 53, who sat behind the director’s chair, filmed two alternate versions of the most integral action sequences, one of which included Wahlberg (Max Payne) storming the Aesir building, right from the parking garage scene.

And it was so outright brutal, that the Irish filmmaker deemed it to be “one of the bloodiest shootouts he has ever filmed.”

Another Bloody Live-Action Outing in the Works?

Although there have been no official announcements on the front, there had been some chatter bubbling up about a potential Max Payne sequel just last year, a rumor that industry insider Daniel Richtman shed some light on.

Mark Wahlberg as the titular character
While he didn’t explicitly state that the news was about a new movie, he did mention that a new “live-action project” based on the video game is allegedly in the works.

Whether Wahlberg would be a part of the outing or not, remains unclear. But since the Uncharted star isn’t big on franchises and sequels, the likes of Transformers and Ted being a few exceptions, nothing can be said for sure. If Max Payne 2 were to materialize, however, hopefully, it’ll be able to accomplish what its predecessor wasn’t able to.