and directing combination, there were intensely serious moments surrounded by the blackest of black comedy, something that shouldn't have worked, but it did!My only problem with the flick is that it IS a true story. From what I've heard it's not even based on a true story, it's just a sensationalized docudrama with added humour... Christ re read this after you see the movie and then you'll find it funny... I hope TL;DR VERSION Not for kids; great movie with great casting, writing, direction, cinematography etc.; But it loses a point for taken such a sad, serious story and making it painfully funny.

boneheaded kidnapping plan portrayed in the film was based on a true story makes this that much more intriguing. Go watch this movie!

fashioned 90s' crime movie, like something Tony Scott rest is peace, brother or Michael Mann would have made. The pacing is non-stop and the tone is all over the place, but it only sucked me in more from not being able to tell exactly where it was going, nor how I would respond to it. Several times I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe at many, MANY of the more gruesome, dark moments. I haven't felt that level of unpredictability and discomfort from a mainstream film in a long time. And my god, was it glorious.Something worth noting that took me by surprise among SO many other things was how immersive the setting was. With recent films - the most recent one coming to mind being X-Men First Class - they simply flash a title on screen saying '1962' or whatever. But in that movie, I never ONCE felt like I was in 1962. This felt exactly like 1995, from details like the Rock's sneakers to the condom billboards, to the paint jobs on the cars and boats. I think ONCE I was taken out of the time-setting when we see a pack of tacos clearly from a modern Taco Bell, but it's so fast it's not even noticeable to the average viewer, just the kind of detail I pick up on.Bay actually handles the action what little there is very well and manages to put it all into context. During every chase, every explosion, I knew where I was, where the characters were, and the motivation behind everything they were doing. The frenetic work always moved the plot along and wasn't gratuitous in any way. Again, not the kind of thing to hear about the Transformers director.The Rock really stood out to me in a surprisingly nuanced performance. But Marky Mark stole the show, and rightly so. What a shallow, stupid, and incredibly charismatic person. I was glad to see the real- life fates of each of these people, and felt justified for each's punishment, and redemption. But make no mistake, these are despicable, murderous people. Somewhere I read accidentally beforehand said this movie was 'Fargo by way of the Three Stooges'. That is the most accurate description I can think of. Bloody, violent, fast, but engrossing, scary at moments and - dare I even say it? - compelling in how dumb these people are by how they manage to feed off each other to bring out the best and worst of human beings.I walked out of the theater not quite sure if I had seen the best film so far of the year, or the worst. But I couldn't stop smiling the entire way to my car. I never thought I'd say it, but Best Film I've Seen So Far This Year...and it's from Michael Bay.If recycled, predictable garbage like Avatar can go for Oscar gold, this is probably the film Bay may be able to come close to academy recognition with. I believe in fitness. See this movie. ps - I was not happy to see Rebel Wilson show up, but even she doesn't drag this down with her schtick news flash, people. Fat chicks making sex jokes isn't funny. You hear that, Melissa McCarthy? You're better than that, ladies

budget of $26 million. Not exactly peanuts, but nowhere near the budget Bay is used to. I believe this encouraged him to put some real thought into it.First of all, this is a dark, dark comedy at its core. It's Fargo ramped up to eleven and edited into the pace of a 2-hour-long seat-edging action thriller. The movie manages to go from serious, to gory, to slapstick all in a matter of minutes, and somehow still manages to work. It'll be impossible to keep yourself from cracking out in laughter, even though all of the characters are completely unlikable and self-absorbed. The movie constantly mocks gym jocks, self-help optimism, and class privilege. The acting is superb. All of the cast was well chosen, from Dwayne to Shalhoub and especially Wahlberg. And that shocking fridge horror moment comes with the realization that it all actually happened. Yes, unlike Fargo, that disclaimer at the beginning of the movie is an honest one, and the actual events are even more outrageous than this movie itself.Most of the criticism seems to come from this movie being made as humor deriving from a true event, but I don't think it could have been done better any differently. All of the changes made to the events were understandable in order to make it watchable as a movie; Adding extra humor in order to balance the absurdity, merging a few characters into one much larger one, or even actually *toning down* a few parts to make them more believable. There are so many memorable moments that are permanently affixed to my brain, unlike other Bay films which are utterly forgettable. That makes this a cult classic, and easily one of my favorite movies.

is a dark comedy but this is such an out there story that there's no way you can make it without it being funny. 80-90% of the movie is true to what happen in real life and it's a great example that reality is stranger than fiction. Now I do need to talk about Bay's directing and in my opinion his over the top and excessive film making work in this movie because it needs an over the top director to tell an far-fetched but true story and the excessive film making works because the movie is about American excess and I can think of no one else to directed this movie then Bay, this is a movie that's so good that it's a career defining moment for him, but knowing what his next project is it's not going to last long. The movie is also constantly narrated by everyone and it works because they all had things to say about what's happening to the character at the time. The acting is great everyone did an amazing performance and it shows that actor's that I thought could only do action movies only can also do dramatic and comedic performance, if you couldn't tell who I'm talking about its Dwayne Johnson, he did an amazing job in this movie as did everyone else. This movie felt like a lost masterpiece of the 1990's as I would of watch this with Fight Club or something along those lines. in conclusion I loved this movie and want to go and see it in theaters again, best film of 2013 so far.

on video. Oh, and also the fact that this movie is based on real events makes it even more interesting.

of all kinds of colors and sunshine! Yup! PAIN & GAIN looks, feels, breaths, and benches like a Michael Bay movie, alright! Minus the giant robots, and that's a good thing in this case. I have to give props to the true story that became the basis for this movie, just the idea of three knucklehead bodybuilders chasing American dream and the mishaps that happen along the way because of their stupidity, it's practically a formula for a laugh riot, it practically begged to be made into a movie. Plus it's scripted by the screen writing team who brought us Captain America: The First Avenger, the humor that banks on the cluelessness of the three leads just keeps on coming and hitting the mark. What a great cast, including the great Tony Shalhoub and the rising star/funnywoman, Rebel Wilson who steals every scene she's in. That big girl is going to go places.Mark Wahlberg leads the pack, but this ain't The Hangover, because all the three lead characters in PAIN & GAIN are idiots, that's the attraction, they think they have it all figured out, but they never think things through, so when things go haywire, they're forced to improvise and when they do improvise, people get hurt and even after that, they still mess up in trying to cover their tracks, it's the idea of stupid people trying to get a shortcut to fortune, some people can't handle such fortune, they mismanage it and they're left hungry again. The film probably would make the late great Tony Scott proud too, because it moves like an A-D-D person, one scene moves to the next very quickly, which also speaks about how rash the three leads are in making their moves. Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, and Anthony Mackie have impressive comedic timing, you should see them panicking or cornered, their performances get even more intense. I hit the gym but I don't even come close to what Wahlberg, Mackie, and Johnson do regularly, perhaps. Their biceps have biceps, that's how ridiculously massive they look on the big screen, their belief in fitness is going to make you feel quite insignificant. PAIN & GAIN may have some commentary about American Dream, on whether or not those who do achieve it actually earned it, but in the end, it's just a laugh out loud cautionary tale told through the style of Michael Bay.-- www.ramascreen.com --

reviews,I just think we should only be following one character,and when we learn about a different characters past it should still be the main character telling their story,I think it should have just been Mark Wahlberg's character telling the story instead of switching around to Dwayne Johnson,to Bar Paly and later on Ed Harris,they gave so much characters the chance to narrate which just really irritates me.The movie really is a breath of fresh air considering it is directed by Michael Bay,who's never done a movie like this before,and the characters are nothing like Mark Wahlberg,Dwayne Johnson or Anthony Mackie have played before. Pain & Gain is a very enjoyable movie that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good action or comedy.Based on a true story about three bodybuilders who get involved in burglary and kidnapping in order to get all the money and wealthy lifestyle they desire,but to fact that none of them are particularity brainy dosen't help them. Best Performance: Mark Wahlberg

happy and what happens then after to them is the rest.I liked Dwayne Johnson's role, kinda cool, made all the difference to the story. Mark Wahlberg role as well, which was aggressive and energetic. But the third character was quite moderate other than in romance related scenes. There are few errors on technical aspects like crews are clearly visible in many scenes through the glass. Overall a good movie with a racy pace and very much enjoyable.7.5/10