Pain & Gain
2/4
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shaloub, Ed Harris, Rebel Wilson, Bar Paly, Rob Corddry
Rated R for Bloody Violence, Crude Sexual Content, Nudity, Language Throughout and Drug Use
One has to give Michael Bay credit for trying something different. Bay, the king of monster budget special effects extravaganzas (like the "Transformers" franchise and "Bad Boys" and "Bad Boys II"), opted to do a smaller budget ($25 million, which is a fraction of his usual budget) movie for a change of pace. Fair enough. I'm about as sick of metal robots pounding the hell out of each other as he probably is. The film looks great, as his films always do. Unfortunately, he commits the cardinal sin of any movie: he filmed the movie with a script that is in desperate need of a few rewrites to clean it up.
Daniel Lugo (Wahlberg) is a personal trainer at a gym that he has saved from ruin. But he wants his own version of the American dream, especially after he helps a rich asshole named Victor Kershaw (Shaloub) get in shape. So Daniel hatches a plan that's so simple and so boneheaded that laughing is all one can do to keep their jaw from hitting the floor. Daniel and his two friends, ex-con Paul (Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Mackie), whose steroid addiction left him with erectile dysfunction, will kidnap Kershaw (in disguise of course), make him sign over all of his assets, and send him on his way (with a protein shake). Their problem is two-fold: none of them are blessed with any intelligence whatsoever and Murphy's Law is in full force.
This has all the makings of a great action comedy, and I'm sure that that's what Michael Bay had in mind. A sort of Tarantino meets Clark Griswold. But the screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is a mess. It's unorganized to the point where it frequently gives flashbacks of the characters' backstories (which are oddly placed) and it's constantly tripping over itself to explain everything.
The acting is adequate. Mark Wahlberg is his usual reliable self, although this is not his finest hour. Dwayne Johnson is terrific as the now-sober ex-con who is trying his best to stay on the straight and narrow. He also proves that he understands comedy as some of his antics and lines provide the biggest laughs. Anthony Mackie is surprisingly weak. In the past, such as in the "Half Nelson" and "The Hurt Locker," Mackie has proven himself to be a more than capable actor. But here, he fades into the background. Tony Shaloub isn't dislikable enough to be truly convincing. Rather than a man who deserves what he gets, Shaloub plays him like Mr. Hertz in "Shoot 'Em Up." While this leads to some humorous moments, it decreases the asshole factor that the character needs. And of course, Ed Harris is his usual reliable self.
Michael Bay is a popular whipping boy these days, and to be honest, I'm not sure why. Sure, the "Transformers" movies were dumb, but blame the studios for greenlighting those scripts. Michael Bay was simply doing his job, and let no one argue that he doesn't have visual panache. If he's given a great script, he can make a masterpiece like "The Rock." Unfortunately, the script he got wasn't very good. Bay does what he can with what he is given, including some ironic uses of title cards. But it's not enough.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shaloub, Ed Harris, Rebel Wilson, Bar Paly, Rob Corddry
Rated R for Bloody Violence, Crude Sexual Content, Nudity, Language Throughout and Drug Use
One has to give Michael Bay credit for trying something different. Bay, the king of monster budget special effects extravaganzas (like the "Transformers" franchise and "Bad Boys" and "Bad Boys II"), opted to do a smaller budget ($25 million, which is a fraction of his usual budget) movie for a change of pace. Fair enough. I'm about as sick of metal robots pounding the hell out of each other as he probably is. The film looks great, as his films always do. Unfortunately, he commits the cardinal sin of any movie: he filmed the movie with a script that is in desperate need of a few rewrites to clean it up.
Daniel Lugo (Wahlberg) is a personal trainer at a gym that he has saved from ruin. But he wants his own version of the American dream, especially after he helps a rich asshole named Victor Kershaw (Shaloub) get in shape. So Daniel hatches a plan that's so simple and so boneheaded that laughing is all one can do to keep their jaw from hitting the floor. Daniel and his two friends, ex-con Paul (Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Mackie), whose steroid addiction left him with erectile dysfunction, will kidnap Kershaw (in disguise of course), make him sign over all of his assets, and send him on his way (with a protein shake). Their problem is two-fold: none of them are blessed with any intelligence whatsoever and Murphy's Law is in full force.
This has all the makings of a great action comedy, and I'm sure that that's what Michael Bay had in mind. A sort of Tarantino meets Clark Griswold. But the screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is a mess. It's unorganized to the point where it frequently gives flashbacks of the characters' backstories (which are oddly placed) and it's constantly tripping over itself to explain everything.
The acting is adequate. Mark Wahlberg is his usual reliable self, although this is not his finest hour. Dwayne Johnson is terrific as the now-sober ex-con who is trying his best to stay on the straight and narrow. He also proves that he understands comedy as some of his antics and lines provide the biggest laughs. Anthony Mackie is surprisingly weak. In the past, such as in the "Half Nelson" and "The Hurt Locker," Mackie has proven himself to be a more than capable actor. But here, he fades into the background. Tony Shaloub isn't dislikable enough to be truly convincing. Rather than a man who deserves what he gets, Shaloub plays him like Mr. Hertz in "Shoot 'Em Up." While this leads to some humorous moments, it decreases the asshole factor that the character needs. And of course, Ed Harris is his usual reliable self.
Michael Bay is a popular whipping boy these days, and to be honest, I'm not sure why. Sure, the "Transformers" movies were dumb, but blame the studios for greenlighting those scripts. Michael Bay was simply doing his job, and let no one argue that he doesn't have visual panache. If he's given a great script, he can make a masterpiece like "The Rock." Unfortunately, the script he got wasn't very good. Bay does what he can with what he is given, including some ironic uses of title cards. But it's not enough.
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