The hero of this video game adaptation has suffered a lot of pain in his life and the audience will know just how he feels after sitting through this tortuous "I don’t believe in adventure.

Audiences will certainly believe in pain, and boredom and frustration, as the vengeance-seeking cop plods wearily through a plot that straddles reality and drug-induced fantasy on the crime-riddled streets of New York City.

First-time screenwriter Beau Thorne sketches a familiar tale of murder and redemption without any of the excitement or relentless, adrenaline-pumping action of the small screen source material.

He opens with the supposed drowning of the main protagonist then flashes back one week to chart events leading up to Max’s tumble into the frozen water.

The twists, if they can be called that, are signposted so far in advance, it becomes laughable that characters can’t see what is staring them in their blank faces.

Mark Wahlberg is inexpressive as the eponymous good cop on a mission, shooting first and thinking later, if at all, as Moore’s film builds to a lacklustre final showdown on the rooftop of a skyscraper in the middle of a snowstorm.

Police officer Max Payne (Wahlberg) returns home to find his wife Michelle (Marianthi Evans) and baby daughter slain by an intruder.

Unable to rest until he unmasks the killer, Max scours every open case file and draws comfort and inspiration from his mentor BB (Beau Bridges), who urges patience.

A tip-off from a snitch leads to a nightclub where Max meets beauty Natasha (Olga Kurylenko) and her sister Mona (Mila Kunis).

The former dies in an alleyway and police units discover Max’s stolen wallet at the scene, fingerprinting him for the gruesome crime.

While Max tries to clear his name and outrun Internal Affairs Detective Jim Bravura (Chris Bridges), the real culprit, tormented soldier of war Jack Lupino (Amaury Nolasco), seeks out the people closest to the renegade cop, including good friend Alex (Donal Logue).

Fans of the Max Payne games will recognize characters and certain plot elements, like the conspiracy surrounding an experimental drug that drives users to the brink of insanity.

The film also employs the slow motion bullet time effect, which was a key factor of the video game’s appeal, bending time and the laws of physics to achieve the most visually arresting results.

However, Moore’s film is a poor substitute for the visceral slam-bang that comes from grabbing a controller and taking charge of the hero yourself.

We don’t feel engaged with any of the characters, nor do we sense Max’s simmering rage over the slaughter of his family.

Supernatural elements drawn from Norse mythology necessitate a blitzkrieg of computer generated special effects which provide a welcome respite from the eternal gloom of Jonathan Sela’s colour-starved cinematography.

The lack of dramatic momentum makes the 99-minute running time feel considerably longer.