Pain & Gain (2013)

A movie with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson! How come I've never watched this earlier? :D

It dives into the action right from the start, Mark Wahlberg is doing some sit-ups off of a wall when cops surround the building, he makes a run for it, the camera pans in on his face as he makes the most despairful facial expression I've ever seen him do, then speeds up until a car runs into him and he slides across the hood into the windshield. All this is accompanied to somewhat unusually ambient music, but then... time rewinds, back to when it all began. Beautiful beginning.

It all began in a gym. Wahlberg's working as a trainer, but he's not content with life, he wants something more for himself. So, inspired by the speech of a life coach (is that an occupational name?), he decides to get it. He does this by kidnapping one of his clients, together with a coupe of bodybuilder buddies he recruits for the task, but things go to shit and events get crazier and crazier until... it's not even fun anymore. It's grotesque. It's tragic. It's a great story!

The fact that it's based upon a real story makes it all the more worth-watching, and an exciting story it is. The filmography is good, no annoying shaky-cam, no bad angles, plenty of sceneries, close-ups, atmospheric locations and a good pace. Good actors too, even though they occasionally act so dumb you slap your dreadlocks. It's a good movie!

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle