Have video games become so complex and cinematic in their storytelling that they're a good breeding ground for films?

Or have studios gotten so lazy that they figure, hey, this game's popular, let's toss off a movie and maybe the kids who play it will buy tickets?

"Max Payne" offers a little evidence for both sides, but more of the latter.

The film, based on a popular third-person shooter game, stars Mark Wahlberg as Max, a cop whose wife and child were killed by thugs. He's working the cold-case unit, a loner who cares little about his job but is obsessed with solving his wife's murder. That means long nights out on the streets, chasing leads, meeting with unsavory characters and, naturally, shooting a lot of guns.

Max's world is dark and cold — snow blows constantly, but it seems to make the city dirtier. He runs across a woman named Natasha (Olga Kurylenko), who is later brutally murdered; she stole his wallet, so the cops want answers. Except he doesn't have any. He teams up with Natasha's sister, Mona Sax (Mila Kunis) — an assassin, because, well, why not? — to try to get to the bottom of Natasha's death, and possibly Max's family's.

There are other murders, as well, in which victims see black, winged creatures (as Natasha did). A menacing, tattooed brute named Lupino (Amaury Nolasco) seems to be around every time someone is killed, slurping an electric-blue substance and screaming. B.B. Hensley (Beau Bridges), Max's father's former partner on the force, wants Max to pull back, stop chasing after his wife's killer. Not much chance of that.

Bridges has a good time in the film's most interesting role, and Wahlberg is his usual subdued, understated self (as subdued and understated as a guy who's constantly killing people can be, that is). But the film doesn't add up.

The story, involving conspiracies, doesn't always make sense. And the surprises are easy to predict. Director John Moore doesn't try to hide them. Instead, he relies on hallucinatory visuals to hold the audience's interest. Some are undeniably stunning. But it's also the kind of film where armed-to-the-teeth police marksmen can fire automatic weapons at Max, squeezing off thousands of rounds, yet consistently miss him.

The film isn't meant to be realistic, of course, but more of a heightened reality. It relies not on narrative and such, but pure, pumped-up action. Kind of like a video game. Go figure.

Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic is the chief film critic for Gannett. Read his blog at www.goodyblog.azcentral.com.