Pain & Gain
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: April 26, 2013
6.5
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 351 Ratings
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205
Mixed:
101
Negative:
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3
CriticWesMay 25, 2013
PAIN & GAIN
"Pain & Gain" is true story of a gang of bodybuilders who kidnap a wealthy businessman in order to take all of his money and assets. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie and Tony Shaloub.
Although thePAIN & GAIN
"Pain & Gain" is true story of a gang of bodybuilders who kidnap a wealthy businessman in order to take all of his money and assets. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie and Tony Shaloub.

Although the previews for this movie make it appear to be a fun and action packed comedy, I found it to be highly disturbing, anti-climactic, and frustrating. The fact that this film was based on a true story is disheartening, mainly from knowing the fact that people can be so stupid in real life.

The film started out pretty good, but as it progressed, it became more and more sickening and to be completely honest, I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Everyone in the film did a good job and Tony Shaloub was, in my opinion, the best thing about it. Unfortunately, good acting can't make up for a story like this one. The cinematography was strange with odd camera angles and shaky shots that made it difficult to see what was taking place at times.

I can't think of anyone to whom I would recommend this movie. I think maybe if you liked "Very Bad Things", you might like it (might).

My grade for this film: D

To view my grading scale, go to: facebook.com/CriticWes
To view my movie blog, go to: http://www.mix93.com/pages/16393587.php?… Expand
2 of 3 users found this helpful21
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1
wvmoviefanMay 5, 2013
Deservedly belongs on all worst movies of the year list! Guess it will appeal to all those who think crackheads/body dismemberment/homophobic/chauvinistic actions and attitudes are sources for humor but being offensive is hardly beingDeservedly belongs on all worst movies of the year list! Guess it will appeal to all those who think crackheads/body dismemberment/homophobic/chauvinistic actions and attitudes are sources for humor but being offensive is hardly being "comedic." Went with high expectations knowing the cast; still angry the morning after that I spent $30.00 on this trash!… Expand
3 of 7 users found this helpful34
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0
fijarioApr 29, 2013
They had no likable characters in the film. The Rock was the comical relief as a born again christian. (not funny) It was like watching Dateline Murder Mystery where they were trying to make you route for the criminals. Yeah its a crazyThey had no likable characters in the film. The Rock was the comical relief as a born again christian. (not funny) It was like watching Dateline Murder Mystery where they were trying to make you route for the criminals. Yeah its a crazy true story, but should have never been made into a movie.… Expand
4 of 11 users found this helpful47
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0
NickTheCritickApr 26, 2022
What should I say about this movie? The rating may be more indicative than any word I can say.
1 of 3 users found this helpful12
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0
Clock_TowerJun 1, 2013
I went to the movies hoping to have a fun, casual experience with some friends. I really had no idea what this movie was about, other than it was a comedy about some body builders. I discovered pretty quickly that this movie was pure trash.I went to the movies hoping to have a fun, casual experience with some friends. I really had no idea what this movie was about, other than it was a comedy about some body builders. I discovered pretty quickly that this movie was pure trash. The majority of the "humor" in the movie was made at the expense of Christians and Jesus Christ. I left shortly after the Jesus bashing commenced, thoroughly disgusted. It's pretty shameful what the world is coming to, and what is now considered humor.
Anti-christian humor aside, the other aspects of the movie were mind numbingly dull and boring. Watching this movie was about the equivalent of having a lobotomy. You may, however, enjoy this movie if your IQ is in the single digits, or if you are incredibly high while viewing it.… Expand
3 of 12 users found this helpful39
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3
MikefromAngusOct 13, 2013
I didn't know if this movie was meant to be a comedy or not. But, I didn't find it funny. The beginning was the highlight of the movie, but half way through the movie. It fell apart.
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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1
Bruce722Jan 24, 2015
Pain & Gain is easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life. The characters are all despicable, the plot is boring and the acting is mediocre at best. I literally spent every five minutes in the last half of this moviePain & Gain is easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life. The characters are all despicable, the plot is boring and the acting is mediocre at best. I literally spent every five minutes in the last half of this movie pausing to check how much time I had left. How they got so many legitimate actors to actually lower themselves to this level is the most astonishing thing to me. Honestly, not even the stunning Bar Paly could make this movie worthwhile. Learn from me... don't waste your time.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
jdadams01Jun 14, 2013
Was ready for it to be over halfway through. The characters get annoying quickly and it feels like the movie is stuck in the mud early on. The stab at humor is ridiculously lacking. Michael Bay being Michael Bay, basically.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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2
FitzpaulaAug 14, 2013
What a terribly painful movie. With every passing minute you feel like your brain is dying a little bit more.
The biggest problem is probably that the movie tries so hard to be edgy that it passes by every chance of reflection which wouldWhat a terribly painful movie. With every passing minute you feel like your brain is dying a little bit more.
The biggest problem is probably that the movie tries so hard to be edgy that it passes by every chance of reflection which would have been necessary to make it watchable. If it wasn't for the pinches of humor mixed in by Dwayne Johnson's character this would be a 0.
Unaesthetic, predictable, disgustingly misogynist and, worst of all, seriously dumb.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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2
MegacritcMay 18, 2014
pain & gain is a comedy by Michael Bay about a murder case (based on a true story) where the killers are our protagonist that we are suppose to root for, while the victim is a rich jerk who is mean to everyone and deserves to be kidnapped,pain & gain is a comedy by Michael Bay about a murder case (based on a true story) where the killers are our protagonist that we are suppose to root for, while the victim is a rich jerk who is mean to everyone and deserves to be kidnapped, and robbed. And since this incident took place fairly recently, the (real) family members of the victims get to watch as their loved ones be portrayed in a bad light; as if killing them wasn't a bad enough. What kind of sick, twisted person makes a movie to poke fun at a horrible event in an attempt to make everyone laugh at it by turning it into a comedy. Now I understand that laughter can be a great cure for sadness, but you don't do it by trying to justify what the murderers did by orchestrating events that didn't happen in an attempt to make them likable in a film that's suppose to be based on a true story. I can't even imagine how the family members of the victims must feel to have someone close to them die then have a movie made to basically tell them that they deserved to die in a comedy. Let's not forget the survivors who have to watch themselves be degraded in the movie after what they went through. They even make the deaths accidental to help yo to sympathize with the murderers. The movie not even funny. Sure there are a few chuckles here and there, but the film really isn't funny. The humor basically revolves around either racial jokes or sex jokes (mainly gay-sex jokes) which come off as being either stupid or offensive (sometimes both).… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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2
MacReady10Mar 15, 2014
Desolante e vuota thriller/commedia amara filmata Michael Bay. Al di là della sciatteria della messa in scena e della regia anche il film non diverte mai e dopo i primi 30 minuti già mi ero pentio di averlo iniziato a guardare. Michael BayDesolante e vuota thriller/commedia amara filmata Michael Bay. Al di là della sciatteria della messa in scena e della regia anche il film non diverte mai e dopo i primi 30 minuti già mi ero pentio di averlo iniziato a guardare. Michael Bay non ne azzecca mai una, tutti i suoi film sono scialbi e noiosi, ma forse, nell'era in cui si dice che Kubrick è noioso, ci meritiamo registi di questo calibro.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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1
AxeTJan 9, 2015
Unbearably bad and a sad payday for actors like Ed Harris, even Johnson. This lousy movie proves beyond any doubt that Michael Bay is still a 14-year-old who couldn't make a film for adults if his life depended on it.
You know they reallyUnbearably bad and a sad payday for actors like Ed Harris, even Johnson. This lousy movie proves beyond any doubt that Michael Bay is still a 14-year-old who couldn't make a film for adults if his life depended on it.
You know they really screwed up when the actual true crime story is 10 times better as told on an episode of Dateline NBC than here with 1000 times more money behind it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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2
MovieManiac83Apr 22, 2015
Michael Bay is spinning his new dark comedy Pain & Gain as a lower-budget personal project, a character piece that allows him to satisfy his fanciful muse before returning to less spiritually fulfilling endeavors. But don’t expect SundanceMichael Bay is spinning his new dark comedy Pain & Gain as a lower-budget personal project, a character piece that allows him to satisfy his fanciful muse before returning to less spiritually fulfilling endeavors. But don’t expect Sundance fodder from the man who previously blessed the world with Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, and other clattering cinematic migraines. Bay’s idea of “small” and “personal” is making a film not about giant robots—the stars of his Transformers trilogy—but manly men with the physiques and dimensions of giant robots. Set in sun-baked, steroid-addled ’90s Florida, Pain & Gain buffs up an ostensibly true story of greed and ruthless ambition into a comic-book macho fantasy of upward mobility gone awry. Any pretensions of satire, moral ambiguity, or social commentary get lost in a hurricane of empty, mindless spectacle.

Mark Wahlberg’s epic winning streak ends with the thankless lead role of a hotshot, morally slippery personal trainer who decides to take control of his life and his finances by kidnapping, torturing, and then seizing the assets of a rich, gaudy Jewish businessman (Tony Shalhoub). Often-unhelpful assistance arrives in the form of fellow gym freak Anthony Mackie and ex-con Dwayne Johnson, who clings to sobriety and faith as the cornerstones of a tough life. Due in no small part to the stupidity of the conspirators, the plot does not go according to plan. But that doesn't keep the overmatched crooks from plunging further and further into a world of criminality, from which they struggle to emerge with their lives or freedom intact.

Pain & Gain has one huge asset (literally) in the underrated Johnson, who lends his spiritual-struggler a sincere, poignant conviction (before he falls off the wagon) and a go-for-broke desperation (after he loses his spiritual center and embraces cocaine with the same intensity he once embraced Jesus’ purifying love). The squirmy humanity of Johnson’s performance stands in sharp contrast to the gratingly excessive visual style; Bay manages to recreate the overbearing and frenetic qualities of his usual fare, but at a fraction of the budget. Pain & Gain is less a satire of stupidity than a loud, brash, unapologetically vulgar celebration of aggression divorced from intellect. It’s the film Wahlberg and John C. Reilly’s characters in Boogie Nights would have written as a vehicle for themselves in a coked-up, narcissistic delirium, fatally unaware that the narrative makes them look like oblivious, dim-witted **** not the swaggering, Tony Montana-like badasses of their pop-culture–warped imaginations.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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