He may be
one of the most hated and ridiculed directors in all of Hollywood, but I’ll be
damned if Michael Bay isn’t responsible for some of my favorite mindless movies…they
may not be award winners, but I still watch The
Rock, Armageddon, and Bad Boys regularly. The controversial “filmmaker” has been
recently making headlines for taking a royal dump on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, but even after looking past
that travesty, it was still difficult to take Pain & Gain seriously.
The pairing of Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson within an action comedy
should have been a match-up made in cinema heaven, but aside from the surprise
appearance of Rebel Wilson, the first trailer for Pain & Gain looked awful.
With a significant amount of controversy related to the film’s
lighthearted treatment of the actual events surrounding the “Sun Gym Gang,” there
was also concern as to whether Bay could still function on a small budget that
wouldn’t leave much room for explosions.
My attitude towards Pain &
Gain softened after a few television spots highlighted Wahlberg’s humor, so
with zero expectation and sheer morbid curiosity, I decided to see what Michael
Bay had to offer.
Tasteless,
offensive, and filled to the brim with all of Michael Bay’s worst director
trademarks, Pain & Gain somehow
manages to be so idiotic and insane that the end result is actually shamefully
entertaining. With their individual
characters, Wahlberg and Johnson are at the top of their games, but as an
on-screen pair, the two are truly unstoppable as they serve up clever and
downright ridiculous laughs. The
supporting cast is also more than capable, but it was slightly disappointing to
see other proven talents like Rob Corddry, Ken Jeong, and Rebel Wilson
relegated to supporting roles that left little chance to make a memorable
impression. In terms of the writing, it
was surprising to find that Pain &
Gain represents one of Michael Bay’s more coherent scripts, but you cannot
help but feel somewhat guilty for being made to try and sympathize with these
ruthless criminals. If you turn your
brain off, chances are that you will enjoy Pain
& Gain, but don’t fool yourself into expecting any depth or higher
thematic lessons.
Overall
Recommendation: Medium
