Pain & Gain (bodybuilder movie)

[qwerty476662]

I'm going to see this tonight. Expecting good muscle. What did you think?

[newmus]

that was the most depressing movie i've ever seen. before i saw it i didn't really know what it was about - i mean the rock, mark wahlburg, bodybuilders?!? it wasn't necessary. but then i find out that it was a true story (o.k.) about some bodybuilders (check, double check & triple check) who kidnap people and murder them (whoa! that's not good for a true story!) and then come to find out that they are the stupidest bunch of buffoons (remember this really happened). i have known some less than smart bodybuilders in my life but non of them were that stupid (again this was a true story!). keep in mind that the stupidity starts with their whole motivation for their crimes. i mean if this was 100% fiction it would have been a great comedy drama ala Fargo but it wasn't. it was like how most black people cringe when there is some black person on the news who has committed some heinous crime, well as a bodybuilder that is exactly how i felt.

[BGryphon18]

I went to see this on Friday evening and while yes there is a LOT of good muscle, not just from the main characters, but from other guys in the background, it was a... different story.

I agree with newmus that they most certainly are a stupid bunch of guys. To me this is the epitomy and possibly the origin of the "dumb musclehead" stereotype. It started pretty good, then the weird came out and kept growing all the way through to the end.

All in all, I'd give it a C maybe a C+ rating as a movie. Had several bits of humor that had me laughing, LOTS of eye candy that will be good on slow mo, or repeat when it's on DVD but the fact it is a true story, and how it played out, left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. It felt a bit too much like they were trying to cram every genre of movie into it. Comedy, Action, Drama, Violence/Gore, etc.

[qwerty476662]

I agree with your posts. At first I was like

"Bodybuilding is finally making a comeback in the mainstream!"

But then I was like

"I wish no one had seen this movie except me..."

Yea the intro had some good muscle but unfortunately it propagated negative stereotypes.

[raven79]

I honestly think this movie was meant to be viewed for the story more than just for the eye candy. I have heard that the performances were great though and that Wahlberg and Johnson never looked better.

[qwerty476662]

Yes.. Dwayne Johnson's pecs and shoulders were massive. That part was awesome.

[BGryphon18]

I do think that both of their performances were great, problem is the roles they are portraying are... not great. And yes they were in phenomenal physical shape. I think it's important to focus on the fact it's a true story so they were following history and in that they did amazing in portraying the stereotype.