As head of the studio that took a producer-like role in the original Max Payne, 3D Realms CEO Scott Miller knows Max very well. And he didn't exactly like the film, not unlike the zillions of Americans who paid a combined $18 million to see it and hated it.

This news story contains plot spoilers.

"There are several fundamental story flaws ... in the film that have me shaking my head in bewilderment," Miller told Edge. And those flaws start right at the beginning--or rather, what should have been the beginning.

"A big problem with the film is that we do not really know what is driving Max until we see the flashback scene [mid-film] showing him coming home and finding his family murdered. In the game, we put this scene right at the front of the story for a reason!"

Then there's Jack Lupino, the drug man who was "lamely killed by one of the film's non-action characters" instead of Max himself. "The entire time we're told that this drug makes 1-in-100 people super-human, yet Lupino doesn't demonstrate this in the least," Miller said. "It should have taken a hail storm of bullets to bring him down, plus it should have been Max that kills him."

Given his personal involvement in the Duke Nukem film adaptation, Miller has talked his way into a challenge: make a better movie than Max Payne. Of course, in his opinion, he might find that a pretty easy task.