Pain & Gain sees Michael Bay returning to his low-budget roots after doing non-stop blockbusters for over a decade. Bay trades in his trademark (and often ridiculed) love of giant action setpieces and explosions for a character and story-driven film about a trio of meathead bodybuilders (Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Anthony Mackie) kidnapping and extorting a jackass millionaire buisnessman (Tony Shaloub) for all of his money and possessions. As times goes on, the group gets more and more carried away with their new found life of crime and they soon find themselves going off the end trying to cover up the crime they committed while simultaneously pissing their new found fortunes away and looking for other people to extort.
Pain & Gain is one of the most absurdly entertaining movies I've seen in the past few years. The film is just an absolute blast with an engaging and fast-paced story behind a script full of clever one-liners. Audiences will be shocked that Michael Bay, the same guy who brought the world the Transformers franchise and Armageddon, is behind this film. Pain & Gain takes Bay out of his comfort zone and making a surprisingly great and well-rounded satirical film about the pursuit of the American dream and what it means to "make it" in the United States. Aside from a witty and enjoyable script, Pain & Gain features a cast that is completely game for all the ridiculousness this film offers up. The leading trio of Wahlberg, Johnson and Mackie all turn in excellent performances here. Johnson is absolutely hilarious as the cokehead, Jesus-loving, ex-con Paul Doyle, who is recruited to the crew strictly for his previous criminal record. Mackie also shines as the steroid-pumping Adrian Drobal, who manges to be the biggest bumbling idiot in a group full of bumbling idiots. However, Wahlberg steals the show as Daniel Lugo, the ringleader of the operation. Lugo has the other members of the group buying into to his fucked-up vision of the American dream with no persuasion necessary. Lugo is an absolute moron and a certified nutjob, but Wahlberg's performances makes you sympathize with him even when he's doing a bunch of crazy, illegal activity for his own personal gain.
Pain & Gain is a whole hell of a lot of fun. Michael Bay is able to capture this unfathomably insane true story by applying his typical manic energy to a film that's way out of his comfort zone. I hope Bay makes more films like this in the future, it's refreshing to see what he can do as a filmmaker without having to blow shit up every 20 minutes. The entire cast is fantastic (aside from the aforementioned leads, the supporting cast including Tony Shaloub, Rebel Wilson, Ed Harris and Rob Corrdry turn in quality work that enhances film's zaniness and entertainment value) and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Captain America: The First Avenger, Chronicles of Narnia series) craft a sharp script that mocks the concept and excess that goes with pursuing/achieving the American dream brilliantly. Pain & Gain is a great satire piece that is loaded with laughs and thrills that is easily one of the best film's Michael Bay has ever made. One of the biggest surprises and best films I've seen in 2013 thus far.
4/5 Stars
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