Director Michael Bay's (Transformers, The Island, Pearl Harbour, Bad Boys) latest theatrical effort, "Pain and Gain, details the struggle of Daniel Lugo, played by Academy Award Nominee Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg (Contraband, The Departed), a gym junkie who wants to live the "American Dream". So, what is the American Dream? According to Michael Bay, the American Dream is money, beautiful women, sweaty biceps and money. After attending a seminar held by Johnny Wu, played by Ken Jeong (The Hangover Trilogy, Role Models), Lugo gains enough confidence to go out and rob one of his clients Victor Kershaw, played by Tony Shalhoub (Monk, 1408), depriving him of his money and his possessions. In order to do this, Lugo recruits fellow bodybuilders, Anthony Mackie's (Gangster Squad, Real Steel) Adrian Doorbal and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's (The Rundown, G.I. Joe Retaliation) Paul Doyle. Other cast members include the beautiful Bar Paly, Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, Warm Bodies), Ed Harris (The Rock, Gone Baby Gone) and Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids).
Despite the film's dark and brutal subject matter, which consists of torture, murder, kidnapping and extortion, Michael Bay paints his film with a comedic sheen. Personally, it felt unsettling laughing at the antics of the bumbling trio. Although the film is well acted (a very convincing Mark Wahlberg steals the show as a ruthless individual who would stop at nothing to get what he wants, see the scene where they attempt to kill Kershaw), the humour in the film felt off and not in line with the dark and bleak story. As with any other Michael Bay film, the cinematography (Ben Seresin) is excellent and does an excellent job of making a (for Michael Bay) low-budget film look much bigger. Furthermore, Steve Jablonsky does a great job with the score of the film, adding a tense atmosphere when needed.
Onto Michael Bay himself. This is one of Bay's best productions to date. Whilst he has told a "true" story before (Pearl Harbour), it was obvious that at least 70% of the film was fiction, however, much of Pain + Gain was indeed true, as seen in the Miami New Times articles by Pete Collins. While Michael Bay is certainly not one of the most highly regarded directors in the industry, he is arguably one of the best when it comes to the direction of action sequences, and to no surprise, Bay brings his excellent direction of action scenes into Pain and Gain's few action moments. Whether it is Dwayne Johnson on the run from the police or Mark Wahlberg attempting to flee custody, Bay's style is certainly a highlight.
People familiar with Bay's other works may notice his crass and often dry humour. This is most certainly evident in Pain and Gain, where the humour is more a miss than a hit.
That said, the final minutes of Pain and Gain are excellent. Seeing the criminals get their just desserts whilst listening to Ed Harris' narration is both gratifying and was worth the wait. This is a story about criminals, and the moral of the story is that crime certain does not pay (however, in the case of Lugo, it pays only for a moment).
What are your thoughts on Michael Bay's Pain and Gain? Leave some feedback and comments below!
Pain + Gain: 7/10
The Good:
- Acting
- Michael Bay's style
- The "true story" aspect
- Strong cast
- Excellent performance by Mark Wahlberg
- Bar Paly
The Bad:
- Jokes rarely land
- Tonal issues