Pain and Gain Review

So how does Michael Bay deal with a considerably smaller budget? With mixed results.

For once dealing with actual characters instead of CGI creations, Bay weaves an amusing and at times highly entertaining tale. Unfortunately the great pacing of the first half slows into a tedious crawl for the second.

As someone who loves a bit of exercise and the odd protein drink, the gym related scenes and dialogue are the funniest. Anthony Mackie’s Adrian in particular raises laughs with his constant questioning of Paul Doyle’s (Dwayne Johnson) training methods.

This is Johnson’s best role to date, eschewing his usual tough guy persona to portray a guilt ridden former alcoholic. His natural charm is bolstered by his expressiveness and willingness to play against type.

Wahlberg is his usual self whilst the rest of the cast acquit themselves well. No fault can be laid at their feet. Instead I look to the editors and Bay, who could have easily excised 20 minutes and made the second half of the film as snappy as the first. This is Bay we’re taking about, so don’t expect anything too deep, but it’s far above his work on the Transformers films and shows us that there is a really good film in him somewhere, if only he could control his excesses.