Pain & Gain

In the context of sweat and blood, there is often talk of black humor and crazy fun. But I didn't notice anything like that, and please, I like black humor, and I was quite curious to see how Michael Bay would make a story about people who empowered everything but their brains, a story made for the Coen brothers. He filmed it well, it has his style and flair, but I didn't like a single character in it, the humor was still one-note, the only bright spot of the more than two-hour spectacle was Ed Harris who didn't get much space... I just felt quite out of place when something was happening on the screen that I was supposed to be laughing at, but I wasn't. Michael Bay's worst movie. (08/09/2015)

I was really looking forward to watching Pain & Gain. Bay made it out of pure love for cinematography. To be able to make this, he signed up for making the fourth Transformers, and he put the Rock and Mark Wahlberg into it. I really like these two, so one beautiful sunny day I decided to go to the cinema, expecting to enjoy nice actors, great action, fun and amusement. And that’s not quite what I got, and I must admit that I keep mulling this over. The actors are not the problem. Mark Wahlberg is as hunky as probably never before, while the Rock is playing what is probably the most distinctive role of his career. The problem lies in the story. There is no one to root for. Everybody in this movie is a bastard. Moreover, this film is full of absolutely brutal dark humor. That wouldn’t be that bad, because I like this type of humor and usually have no problems with it. The problem comes when it begins to brutally cross the line. The line is crossed by the spectacular action, shot with a very decent, even though sometimes rather shaky camera, but also by the humor, which I couldn’t even get in the end. (08/15/2013)

Tony Scott is in God’s truth and so the throne for the king of sexy filtered filmmaking is once again at the disposal of one man. I never expected Michael Bay to confirm his status as a conversational crime comedy even in my wildest dreams, which is mainly due to the brilliantly absurd script, excellent actors, and the director's obvious desire to make something for his own entertainment. This is definitely the best Michael Bay film since... well, since The Rock. (08/29/2013)

Very likely the worst Michael Bay. A film that has an amazing soundtrack, likeable Wahlberg and Johnson and great actors (Wahlberg/Johnson and Harris, respectively), over-the-top visuals, and a crazy story that can't be taken seriously and thankfully doesn't take itself too seriously either. But at the same time, it’s a routine and tedious ride without a shred of creative innovation and Bay's previous passion, filmed apparently just to kill time before the next Transformers and to cement the collaboration between director and lead actor. I finished it okay, but I wouldn’t want to see it a second time for anything in the world. 60% (03/19/2014)

In full John Waters mode, Michael Bay presents a perversely excessive vision of the sick nature of the American dream. Based on actual events, the screenplay could have been created as a moralising drama or a bit of Coen-esque absurdity, but thanks to Bay and his excessive visual style, it takes on a frantically boisterous form, which also adds a deranged meta level to the whole project. No one else would add to a story from the 1990s the necessary mid-’90s impropriety in maximally attractive modern attire. (11/17/2020)