Movie Review - Pain And Gain

Michael Bay has stepped away from the giant transforming robots and has decided to bring us a "based on a true story" criminal action drama comedy...  okay, that's an awkward description but, well, it works.

Pain and Gain sees a trio of bodybuilders, Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) wanting more out of life.  After seeing a motivational seminar featuring Johnny Wu (Ken Jeong), Daniel decides that the time is right to get what he wants and hatches an elaborate plan to force sleazy gym patron and business owner Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) to sign over all his money and property to him and his partner's in crime.  Things do not go as planned.

Pain and Gain goes to great lengths to tell you that it is based on a true story.  With several statements at the start of the movie, a reminder during one of the more outrageous scenes and mug shots of the real crooks along with actual crime scene photos over the closing credits it really does not want you to forget the true story aspect.  This is necessary since most of the action is so ridiculously over the top and you really find yourself thinking that no one could possible be so stupid.  Trust me, the main players in this movie are really, really stupid.

An interesting device within the movie is the narration.  While at first it seems that Daniel is going to be explaining plot points and motivations it soon jumps to other characters at different times.  This really helps keep the movie interesting and adds a layer of charm to the beef head's antics.  It also never lets you forget just how dumb the main characters are.  They are so stupid.  Explaining how they managed to get away with anything would be a bit of a plot spoiler so you'll have to find that out for yourself.

Performances in the movie are excellent.  Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson really shine and are backed up by an outstanding supporting cast.  Ed Harris and Rebel Wilson particularly steal most of their scenes.

There are some pretty nasty scenes as well as a smattering of gross out humour.  The movie also moves into very dark territory... that I can't talk about without spoiling the movie.

Pain and Gain is an enjoyable movie, even though the "true story" aspect causes a few situations that jolt you out of the movie.  This is a very black comedy though, and should you decide to look up the real story it is based on, well, trust me there is nothing funny about what really happened.

In a word - Doer!