Max Payne - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[nina]

The Valkyr graffiti tag from the original Max Payne (2001) video game is visible just before Max takes a whipping in the alley by Mona Sax.

[wallace]

Jason Colvin's death scene was scaled back due to the PG-13 rating. Originally, there was a wide shot of him being shot in the chest with an enormous amount of blood spray from the wound, along with an impact squib underneath the bloody squib (to create a more brutal effect). In the PG-13 version of the scene, it is only a close shot of Jason Colvin (Chris O'Donnell) with a bit of the impact squib seen going off. The original scene is included on the Unrated Director's Cut DVD.

[toni]

When initially submitted to the MPAA the film was given an R-rating. John Moore then reportedly trimmed a few frames, and the picture was promptly given the more financially viable PG-13 rating.

[lena]

Very little of the movie was actually shot on greenscreen. Instead, Director John Moore opted to shoot in Toronto during the night, in order to add extra reality to his actors' reactions.

[sylvia]

Beau Bridges character has the same initials as the actor

[chad]

James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne in the video game, makes a cameo as the FBI Agent that Lieutenant Jim Bravura introduces to the "real" police officer. He also shows up near the end of the film, asking if Bravura is alright, before calling in Division One over the radio.

[oscar]

Due to the PG-13 rating that the studio wanted, John Moore filmed two versions of the two biggest action sequences in the film, a) The Aesir Swat Building Shoot-out, and b) Max Payne's attack on the Aesir building starting from the parking garage scene. John Moore filmed a version with impact squibs (seen in the PG-13 cut) and one with bloody wound squibs. Moore also stated that the parking garage scene during the filming of using the blood wound squibs was "one of the bloodiest shootouts he has ever filmed".

[harry]

In the film, Valkyries are shown as male. In Norse Mythology, all Valkyries are female. They are also referred to as "Odin's Girls" for the same reason.

[nina]

In the post-credits scene, as Max Payne walks into the bar, a marquee across the street reading "Forgotten Rebels" and "The 3Tards" is visible. Visual Effects Supervisor Jeff Campbell is the guitarist for the punk band Forgotten Rebels. "The 3Tards" is a shout-out to the fellow Ontario-born punk band (both have played shows together, including during post-production of "Max Payne").

[nina]

Early in the film, Max beats up three thugs in the Roscoe Street subway station. This fictitious station is the setting of one of the first levels in the video game, where DEA Agent Alex Balder (upon whom the film's Detective Alex Balder is based) is murdered.

[bryan]

The game designers at 3D-Realms were apparently unimpressed by the motion picture adaptation.