Pain & Gain (2013)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Michael Bay

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie

Running time: 129 minutes

Loosely based on some real crimes committed in Florida in the 1990’s, this American black comedy tells the story of a trio of bodybuilders who, to improve their status and their lifestyles, get involved in kidnapping, extortion and murder. Unfortunately for them, they are not smart enough to have any hope of escaping the authorities.

Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have a particularly good chemistry on screen. They really do play well opposite each other. I must give a special mention to good ol’ Marky Mark, who, despite the fact that he was already in shape, showed some great dedication to the role by gaining all the muscle mass necessary to play a bodybuilder. Ed Harris was a nice surprise here, though his role was small one.

The story itself is compelling enough, though it has been largely criticized for making light of a serious situation and portraying these criminals as more sympathetic than they really were. I definitely can see the merit in that complaint. The storyline took some foolish turns sometimes and the moviemakers were trying a little too hard, in my opinion, to be funny. Humor has to be organic; if it is too forced, it fails.

I found the movie to be a tad long; it ended up dragging a bit towards the end, and I wanted it to end. Too much pain and not enough gain. There were some good aspects, especially as far as the acting goes. Some people complained about the violence, but that doesn’t really bother me. Pain & Gain is a very average film. Not a must-see, but still some entertainment value.

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