Pain & Gain - Film.

Pain & Gain (2013
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Mackie
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980209/

I'm not gonna lie, I was always going to have a good time with Pain & Gain. I knew it was going to be loud, fun and have Dwayne Johnson in it, which is all it normally takes. With the truth bombs out of the way I can say that Pain & Gain is a helluva lot of fun and worth watching to see one of the more bizarre true stories about.

Wahlberg, Johnson and Mackie play three body builders who take it upon themselves to make the American Dream a reality. By working hard and paying your debts? Nope, by kidnapping a rich dude and taking over his life - and that's as normal as I can make it sound.

This film is the antithesis of the phrase "fact is stranger than fiction." It features some absolutely bonkers scenarios that if it wasn't adapted from a true story would be marked down for how ridiculous it seems. If one director was going to handle this film, it was going to be Bay and all in all he pulls off the relatively low budget film well. There's a few "bay-esque" moments (see: loud noises and explosions) that feel a little out of place in the film and make the tone go all wonky.

The performances are where the film really shines. All three of the leads work incredibly well together and bounce off each other like I imagine all inept criminals do. Johnson in particular is funny, empathetic and the best god damn coke-head-who-isn't-actually-on-coke you'll ever see. Tony Shalhoub, pulls off a rare feat of making it hard to be sympathetic with a guy who is having his life ripped apart.

I would have enjoyed Pain & Gain with or without being pre-disposed to it. Even if Bay has never been your cup of tea, it's a fun ride and one well worth taking, if just for The Rock on coke.