Review of Pain & Gain

I love some of Bay's other directed films like "The Rock" and "Bad Boys", and this is obviously WAY different. Yes the directing style is similar, language similar, actors similar (Fiennes and Harris), locale somewhat similar (many of Bays films are filmed in Miami), but the flow and feel of the film is much different. This is based on a true story, and the focus is not as much about the action as it is about Bay's stylish comedic way to tell this story. I did not particularly care for this way. The excessive profanity and mockery of Christianity and religion were a bit annoying for me; it's evident and often throughout the film. Paul (Dwayne Johnson) is an ex-con who has apparently changed his ways, has recently been "saved", and oh yeah, has a mild problem with violence, lack of intelligence, and addiction to substances. I'm not sure how much of these are attempts at humor or from the actual true account. The violence wasn't necessarily over the top, but there is a little more grit and gore than in typical Bay movies. The overall experience here was just more disappointing than not, and while I welcome another Bad Boys movie, I don't welcome another true story crime comedy drama from Bay. Unfortunately, we may have to wait until the next "Transformers" saga to see anything.

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