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Review: Pain & Gain (2013)

Pain & Gain (2013)

Even imperfect as it is, Pain & Gain is definitely one of Michael Bay's more successful recent endeavours. To be fair, he has really only had one other non-Transformers film that he has directed since 2007 so there's that to consider... Pain & Gain with its effective mix of action and dark humour takes Bay back to the ilk of Bad Boys, one of his more beloved franchises.
This film, remarkably based on a true story, is a classic tale of the quest for the American Dream. Well, in a way, at least. This iteration of the classic fable centres on three incompetent and rather repellent gym rats who attempt a kidnapping of a rich client of the gym that they work at. The job is less than a success though, causing the thugs to use their combined intellect and scheming to save the job and their own selves. If not for the darkly black humour underlying the film, this would be quite the despicable and violent story. However, Bay wisely banks in on the inept and outlandish character of these three wannabe criminal masterminds in order to keep us invested in the tale.

Partly, the film works due to the energy that the three leads put into the roles. Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Mackie and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson star here, along with Tony Shalhoub as the targeted client and Ed Harris as the eventual detective trying to foil the trio. Not since Boogie Nights has Wahlberg thrown himself into what some may perceive to be a very-exaggerated characterization of himself - the tough, muscley total-airhead. The Rock is also fantastic here as the (maybe) born again Christian. He is a large part of the comedic bits and, in my opinion, this action/comedy role was quite pivotal in leading the Rock to become the massive star he is today. Lastly, Shalhoub also is great here as the equally-despicable Victor Kershaw, wholly embracing the victim role to great effect. Notably, this film was written by the team of Christopher Markus/Stephen McFeely who, after this film, went on to join the MCU and have written four of the most successful recent entries in the franchise - Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame. One of the main drawbacks to this film is that, at over two hours, it does run itself dry around the 2/3 mark. Shaving off a solid 20-30 minutes may have made the film enjoyable and entertaining through its entirety, however, regadless, it is a fun and pretty ridiculous romp for an evening viewing. 

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