Max Payne is really the only 'action' game that wasn't an action 'sim' (ala Rogue Spear or Operation Flashpoint) that I could tolerate the single player game... and I absolutely loved it. Not a cookie cutter action game by any means, I thought they got the atmosphere just right, had a fun story, incredible graphics, fun combat that somehow managed to stay fresh. I thought the 10 - 15 hour game time was a bit short, but after playing it, I think it was just the right length for the story to be fun without being tedious - and hopefully we'll start seeing some new stories since they released editing tools with the game.
Highly recommended.