Michael Bay Lightens Up with True Crime Comedy 'Pain and Gain'

A group of bodybuilding criminals fumble their way through mayhem in this "visual extravaganza."

Pain & Gain is rated R and runs 129 minutes. It is now playing at Movies 400, 415 Atlanta Road or AMC Avenue Forsyth 12, 350 Peachtree Parkway. For more theater information, show times and pricing, click the links above.

Here's what the critics are saying:

"This weekend, "Pain and Gain" opens nationwide, for both muscle-building juiceheads and those of us who try to make it to yoga a couple of times a week because we want to age gracefully, like Helen Mirren. The true-life story of kidnapping and murder stars Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a pair of criminals who were part of what was known as the Sun Gym gang –- bodybuilders whose criminal activity eventually extended into kidnapping, extortion, and murder." Drew Taylor, Moviefone. Full Review

"Memo to director Michael Bay: Stick to movies with massive pyrotechnics and minimally developed characters. Blending sharp wit and brutality is a tough proposition. Best to leave such a feat in the nimbler hands of Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers, Guy Ritchie and Martin McDonagh. Bay's Pain & Gain is a badly constructed, blood-spattered caper that comes unglued early on." Claudia Puig, USA TODAY. Full Review

"[Bay's] big-budget popcorn productions like Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and the Transformers films have always strained to give audiences an excess of bang for their buck, but you never got the sense that he could tell a joke. If anything, Bay seemed like the type of guy who was incapable of figuring out whether audiences were laughing with him or at him. But with Pain & Gain, his surprising true-crime comedy, Bay has finally decided to lighten up a bit." Chris Nashawaty, EW.com. Full Review

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