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The pursuit of the "American Dream" has rarely been brought to the screen in such an outrageously over the top and uncompromisingly violent manner as it was in 2013's Pain & Gain, an absolutely incredible drama of crime and corruption that is all the more disturbing because it really happened.
This is the unbelievable story of Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a bodybuilder and personal trainer who decides to kidnap a wealthy client named Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) with the aid of a co-worker (Anthony Mackie) and a God fearing ex-con trying to stay sober (Dwayne Johnson), but Lugo gets greedy...he doesn't just ask for a ransom, he tortures his victim and blackmails him into signing over all his assets to Daniel so that everything that Kershaw owns will belong to Lugo, but Lugo and his pals don't realize that capturing such a massive piece of the pie requires detailed planning, something they don't have a clue about because these three guys are basically idiots whose brains are in their biceps.
Since this is a true story, it's kind of hard to gauge exactly how accurate Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreeley's very talky screenplay is, but we are asked to accept a whole lot here...the torturing of Kershaw is outrageous and it is hard to believe that he actually survives what happens to him. It's hard to accept that our three heroes get away with as much as they do for as long as they do. It's ridiculous that no one believes Kershaw when he escapes and tells his story. There is payoff to this story, but these three guys cause way too much carnage and make way too long a list of innocent victims before that payoff happens.
Watching these guys get away with everything that they do is all the more aggravating because these guys are idiots and not very likable, though Johnson's character, Paul Doyle, does possess some very engaging qualities and caring about this character is initially very easy; unfortunately, the screenplay methodically destroys the character and takes away any sympathy you might have accrued for the three central characters and I can see how one might like these guys if the film is caught in the right mindset, but I didn't.
Director Michael Bay has a cinematic eye for violence here that approaches Tarantino territory, giving us an up close and personal look at the relentless gore presented here. The performances are mostly over the top, though I absolutely loved Johnson who keeps a sad character likable and Shalhoub as the most durable kidnap victim I have ever seen. The film is overlong, stretches credibility and has plotholes you can drive a truck through, but if idiotic people doing consistent rotten and getting away with it for way too long is your idea of entertainment, have your fill here.
The pursuit of the "American Dream" has rarely been brought to the screen in such an outrageously over the top and uncompromisingly violent manner as it was in 2013's Pain & Gain, an absolutely incredible drama of crime and corruption that is all the more disturbing because it really happened.
This is the unbelievable story of Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a bodybuilder and personal trainer who decides to kidnap a wealthy client named Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) with the aid of a co-worker (Anthony Mackie) and a God fearing ex-con trying to stay sober (Dwayne Johnson), but Lugo gets greedy...he doesn't just ask for a ransom, he tortures his victim and blackmails him into signing over all his assets to Daniel so that everything that Kershaw owns will belong to Lugo, but Lugo and his pals don't realize that capturing such a massive piece of the pie requires detailed planning, something they don't have a clue about because these three guys are basically idiots whose brains are in their biceps.
Since this is a true story, it's kind of hard to gauge exactly how accurate Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreeley's very talky screenplay is, but we are asked to accept a whole lot here...the torturing of Kershaw is outrageous and it is hard to believe that he actually survives what happens to him. It's hard to accept that our three heroes get away with as much as they do for as long as they do. It's ridiculous that no one believes Kershaw when he escapes and tells his story. There is payoff to this story, but these three guys cause way too much carnage and make way too long a list of innocent victims before that payoff happens.
Watching these guys get away with everything that they do is all the more aggravating because these guys are idiots and not very likable, though Johnson's character, Paul Doyle, does possess some very engaging qualities and caring about this character is initially very easy; unfortunately, the screenplay methodically destroys the character and takes away any sympathy you might have accrued for the three central characters and I can see how one might like these guys if the film is caught in the right mindset, but I didn't.
Director Michael Bay has a cinematic eye for violence here that approaches Tarantino territory, giving us an up close and personal look at the relentless gore presented here. The performances are mostly over the top, though I absolutely loved Johnson who keeps a sad character likable and Shalhoub as the most durable kidnap victim I have ever seen. The film is overlong, stretches credibility and has plotholes you can drive a truck through, but if idiotic people doing consistent rotten and getting away with it for way too long is your idea of entertainment, have your fill here.