Quickie Review: G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Paramount Pictures, you are now forgiven for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Adrianne Palicki, you are now forgiven for the Wonder Woman pilot

Movie Review: "Pain and Gain"

Background

Pain and Gain is the newest Michael Bay film based on the true life story of the Sun Gym Gang. Headed by  trainer/bodybuilder Daniel Lugo, he and his bodybuilding buddies Adrian Doorbal and Paul Doyle come up with the plan to kidnap and extort money from millionaire (and Daniel's trainee) Victor Kershaw. Taking place in late 1994/early 1995, and later chronicled in a series of Miami New Times articles, this is a story that director Michael Bay has intended to bring to the silver screen for a while now, and has finally been able to do so once the studio gave him a slight break from the Transformers series.

Review

Usually the biggest problem with a "Based on a True Story" movie, is the fact that it tends to lean more on the "based" part of that phrase instead of the "true story" aspect. Facts and sequence/timing of events are usually exaggerated to the point of generally being completely fictional, all for the sake of drama and keeping the story interesting.

Usually the biggest problem with a Michael Bay film is Michael Bay. While the man has done a phenomenal job of making lots and lots of money at the box office, he has also done an equally steady job of receiving nothing but ire and distaste from those who see his movies, at least those over 13 years old. Much like you would expect a perpetually pubescent male to do, the majority of his movies' focus tend to be on explosions, boobs, and a crazy amount of CGI.

This story and this director, however, seem to be made for each other. The actual events that unfolded in this story are so crazy, they seem like something people would complain about seeing in a Michael Bay movie for being so unbelievable . At one point, after surviving the kidnapping and murder attempt by the gang, Victor Kershaw (played by Tony Shalhoub) tries to tell the police what happened to him, but is passed off as crazy due to the details of what he claims happened. Bay shows that with the benefit of the crazy truth behind him, as well as receiving a budget only as big as one of his first hits Bad Boys, he can in fact direct a decent film under the right circumstances.

It is the acting though that is able to make this movie really work. Main character Daniel Lugo is played by Mark Wahlberg, who beautifully goes back-and-forth between a hilarious dimwit whose main goal in life is to perfect his body, to a terrifying torturer of his kidnapped victims (no, he doesn't show any clips of his performance in The Happening). The best compliment I can give Wahlberg is that he plays this role in such a way that makes you love every moment he is on screen, but you never feel sympathetic for his character. This was a very bad person, that some feared would be glorified somehow with the story being told from his point of view for the most part. I say for the most part because most of the characters in this movie take over as narrator at certain points in the story, so while the focus is mostly on Lugo, you never feel like the film is trying to tell his side of the story, or give any justification for what he does throughout.

The supporting cast of Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie as the two other members of the Sun Gym Gang, Doug and Adrian respectively, as well as Tony Shalhoub as their first victim, and Ed Harris as the retired cop who is the only one to look into his seemingly unbelievable story, all have their moments throughout. It is Dwayne Johnson that really steals the show however. His character, who has recently been released from prison where he became a born again Christian, is the only character who I can say comes close to being a sympathetic one. The majority of what he does comes down to one of two things: either Lugo's ability to manipulate him, and then later in the film, his cocaine addiction. Both of these things are done in a humorous (albeit very dark humor) way, with him misinterpreting Lugo's confidence as actual intelligence, and later on, his actions while high on cocaine putting him into some very funny situations. There are also a good number of jokes at the extent of his new found faith.

There are a few problems I have with this movie though. The beginning seems very disjointed and doesn't quite give a lot of reasons to the main characters' actions besides some broad narration. This may have been done to keep the audience for feeling any sympathy for Lugo and the gang, which I appreciate since their real life counterparts don't deserve any, but it also took away from fully understanding their motivations. While these people clearly aren't anywhere close to being intelligent, I feel they had to have had a better reason for going through all this than they were simply behind on paying bills, or didn't like rich people who didn't take care of their bodies as much as they do.

In the same vein of not making the main characters sympathetic, the movie felt the need to not make the victims of their rampage sympathetic either. While these were supposed to be rich pricks who Lugo feels justified in stealing from, it leaves the viewer without anybody to root for throughout. I left the theater feeling entertained, but not really holding people in high regards. Perhaps that is a reality that those who decided to tell this story wanted to regretfully share.

Conclusion

Normally, it would make me very happy if a Michael Bay film tanked. Nothing would make me happier than studios to have a reason to stop throwing large amounts of cash at unnecessary sequels, or lowest common denominator action and comedy films, that for some reason make a lot of money from the high percentage of lowest common denominator population in this country. Unfortunately I'm afraid that the one Michael Bay movie of the past decade that I would actually recommend to others won't get nearly the amount of box office dollars he and the studio are used to. With the summer blockbuster season starting in a week, and an almost 50/50 split of opinions on the review circuit, I don't see this movie making much more money than it will this opening weekend. While I certainly don't feel there is any correlation between the quality of a film and how much money it makes, studio heads certainly do, and they unfortunately hold the power to what kind of movies get made and distributed these days.

Rating

7 out of 10

Next Week: Iron Man 3

2013 Summer Schedule

4/26 – Pain & Gain (Review)

5/3 – Iron Man 3 (Review)

5/10 – The Great Gatsby (Review)

5/17 – Star Trek Into Darkness

5/24 – Fast and Furious 6 / The Hangover III

5/31 – After Earth

6/7 – Much Ado About Nothing* / Now You See Me / The Internship

6/14 – This Is The End / Man of Steel

6/21 – Monsters University / World War Z

6/28 – Kick Ass 2

7/5 – Despicable Me 2 / The Lone Ranger / The Way, Way Back*

7/12 – Pacific Rim / Grown Ups 2

7/19 – R.I.P.D. / Turbo

7/26 – The Wolverine

8/2 – Red 2

8/9 - Elysium

8/16 – 2 Guns

8/23 – The World’s End

Click on the title for the film's IMDB page

*Subject to local availability