Movie Review: Pain & Gain (2013)
Written by Anthony Sargon
Michael Bay is known for a lot of things, but subtlety and poignancy have never been one of them. Bay is arguably the most bombastic American filmmaker around, and while his brand of entertainment has sold millions of tickets (the "Transformers" films), people still generally agree that he hasn't made a good film since 2003's "Bad Boys II". His latest flick, "Pain & Gain", offers us flashes of what made Bay a promising director in the past, but by turning a violent true story into a dark "comedy", the entire experience feels a little strange and unfocused.
Mark Wahlberg plays Daniel Lugo, a body builder in the mid 90's looking to get out of his financial rut and live out the American Dream. He soon devises a not-so-clever plan to kidnap and extort Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), a sleazy, highly unlikable but very successful business man. Lugo recruits some extra muscle (literally) to help him carry-out his ambitious plan; Ultra religious ex-con Paul Doyle (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), and coworker Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie). As you can imagine, things don't exactly go according to plan, and our three protagonists get into some seriously dark and violent situations.
The performances are actually pretty good, and Dwayne Johnson is a true standout as Paul Doyle. His physically intimidating but lovable character is definitely going to be everyone's favorite, although Mark Walberg and Anthony Mackie's characters also have some memorable moments.
This is what's weird about "Pain & Gain", though. The three protagonists are actually murderers who did some pretty messed up stuff in real-life, but Michael Bay turns the whole thing into a comedy and plays it for laughs. While I admit to laughing a few times, maybe a comedy wasn't the best way to tackle this story. But hey, it's Michael Bay we're talking about here. And yes, the movie is technically a "dark comedy", but Bay's brand of comedy is pretty crude and tasteless. If you thought the robot twins in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" were hilarious, then you'll probably think "Pain & Gain" is a work of art.
As is the case with all Bay movies, you'll get lots of American flags waving around, beautiful women with very little clothing on, as well as a very saturated color palette; it looks like Bay shot the film with an instagram filter. There are also way too many voice-overs. Every character that's introduced gets to narrate the movie for a little while, which makes for an unfocused experience, and it feels pretty amateurish. The film could have also been a little shorter, as it begins to drag near the end.
Anthony's Verdict:
"Pain & Gain" may be Michael Bay's best film in a long time, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. It should have been an enthralling crime drama instead of a comedy, but it's good to see Bay doing something a bit more intimate than "Transformers". It's enough of a good time, but if you're on the fence, just wait for "Iron Man 3".
Numerical Score: 6.5/10
Read the Original post on A Geek's Blog
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