Pain & Gain review

I kind of enjoyed this movie. It felt stupid, bloated, and annoying at parts but mostly, I sort of enjoyed it. Yet, with every enjoyment Pain & Gain had to offer, it also offered an annoyance. So, the movie is about three dumb guys who pull off a stranger-than-fiction kidnapping/robbery that goes horribly wrong. It stars Mark Wahlberg as the fitness nut "mastermind", Daniel Lugo; Dwayne Johnson as reformed bodybuilder Paul Doyle, and Anthony Mackie as the funny sidekick, Adrian Doorbal. What I liked about this movie was it didn't take itself too seriously. It knew it was a comedy and didn't try to hide under the guise of a serious action movie. What I didn't like about this movie was that it was kind of obnoxious and way over used slo-mo. Seriously, every single thing that could maybe be shot in slow motion, was shot in slow motion. After a while it got tiring. The story painted the three criminal bodybuilders as sort of heroes. It was believable for a while. I really was rooting for Marky Mark and his steroid gang to pull through, but only for about the first half off the movie. Then, things got all murder-y and i started to lose respect for the characters. In a film, you need to at least semi-like the characters. Even in movies where the heroes are more anti-heroes you still have sympathy. In films like The Godfather or Pulp Fiction, you know what the characters are doing is wrong, but you still are on their side! Unfortunately, Pain & Gain couldn't pull that off. Hey, the movie wasn't all bad. I have to say, as much as I hated his character, Mark Wahlberg was fun to watch. He played bad pretty well. Dwayne Johnson on the other hand, I may just never love. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of those actors who I just never really liked in any of his movies. I mean he always comes off as just another sweaty "all muscle" action star. I'm sorry, but I will just never like him as an actor. Now Anthony Mackie on the other hand,  I happen to like. He's one of those actors who gets small roles in big movies Why can"t he have a breakout role? The world may never know. Micheal Bay, who directed the movie, did a half way decent job considering the disaster that was Transformers 3. Even though this movie is just okay, for Micheal Bay it's terrific. So, that's that. Pain & Gain was somewhat enjoyable but I just didn't love it. I give Pain & Gain 3 out of 5 stars. Happy Viewing. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies!