Today’s Prayer Focus

Pain and Gain

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for bloody violence, crude sexual content, nudity, language throughout and drug use.
Moral Rating: Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Action Crime Thriller Comedy Drama
Length: 2 hr. 9 min.
Year of Release: 2013
USA Release: April 26, 2013 (wide—3,277 theaters)
DVD: August 27, 2013
Copyright, Paramount Picturesclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures Copyright, Paramount Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Paramount Pictures

use of terrible, grisly real-life events as a source for humor

Real SIN is not funny.

stealing

thieves in the Bible: theft, robbery, the two thieves

murder and death in the Bible

SEXUAL LUST—What does the Bible say about it? Answer

the great dangers and sin involved in greed (love of money)

dangers in use of steroids to produce muscles

RIGHT & WRONG—How do I know what is right from wrong? Answer

MORAL JUDGMENT—Are we living in a moral Stone Age? Answer

Featuring Dwayne “The Rock” JohnsonPaul Doyle
Mark WahlbergDaniel Lugo
Rebel WilsonRamona Eldridge
Anthony MackieAdrian Doorbal
Ken JeongJohnny Wu
Ed HarrisEd Du Bois
Tony ShalhoubVictor Kershaw
See all »
Director Michael Bay —“Transformers,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Armageddon”
Producer Paramount Pictures
De Line Pictures
See all »
Distributor Distributor: Paramount Pictures Corporation. Trademark logo.Paramount Pictures Corporation, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS
Copyrighted, Paramount Pictures

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “From director Michael Bay comes ‘Pain & Gain,’ an action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie. Based on the unbelievable true story of three personal trainers in 1990s Miami who, in pursuit of the American Dream, get caught up in a criminal enterprise that goes horribly wrong. Ed Harris, Tony Shalhoub, Rob Corddry, Rebel Wilson and Bar Paly also star. The film is based on magazine articles by Pete Collins, with a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and produced by Donald DeLine, Michael Bay and Ian Bryce.”

Violence: Extreme—bloody, including dismemberment / Profanity: Extreme—“Jesus” (3), “Jesus Christ” (2), OMG (7), “God” (3), “G*d d*mn” (3), “for G*d’s sakes” (2), “swear to G*d,” “hell” (10), “damn” (3), f-words (over 130), many other vulgar sexual words, and frequent crude language / Sex/Nudity: Extreme—lots of skin (female and male), lots of vulgar sexual talk and jokes, strip club scenes, porn movies, masturbation, sex toys

Are we living in a moral Stone Age? Answer

“VOTING” FOR BAD MOVIES—Every time you buy a movie ticket or rent a video you are casting a vote telling Hollywood “That’s what I want.” Why does Hollywood continue to promote immoral programming? Don’t YOU be part of the problem. More information

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Negative
Negative—My husband and I went to see this movie because of a misunderstanding we had of its nature. As a result, we could not be dragged to this movie again if you paid us. You are lead to believe the main character is a wonderful man, but, in the end, he turns out to be a murderous psychopath. The only redemption this movie offers is his death. It is gut wrenching to watch him and his buddies willfully torture, murder, and steal. I truly hated the protagonist by the end. This movie is evil.

Deterrents in this movie: • Multiple nude scenes that are very graphic and disturbing • Frequent swearing • Sexual immorality • Lust • Greed • Drugs • Graphic murders involving butchering • Misrepresentation of Christianity (Need I go on?)

I highly recommend staying as far away from this movie as possible.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
B.R.S., age 23 (USA)
Negative—Bought the BluRay of this movie because we are (?) fans of Wahlberg and Rock. Into it 15 minutes, we stopped the movie and destroyed the disc. Just a plain horrible movie—such a waste of talent.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Fred Genchi, age 52 (USA)
Negative—How is it possible that some of the main actors profess their faith in God off the screen, then practice daily their scripts of murder, immoral sex, mutilation of human bodies and torture all in a comedic light for entertainment. Temptation of money and power will be used by Satan to deliver messages of darkness to our already dark world. I used the average rating because I don’t find offense to this movie as this movie was made for the world and not Christians. This is another glimpse into the way Hollywood movies have played in the destruction of society.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 2
Scott, age 50 (USA)
Movie Critics
…overtly despicable characters, this unapologetically vulgar, sometimes quite funny, often stomach-churning bacchanal will surely prove too extreme for great swathes of the multiplex crowd…
Scott Foundas, Variety
… a jokey but fatally tone-deaf true-crime caper, plays like “Fargo” for idiots. …Bay just rubs our nose in mayhem and giggles at the mess he’s made. …
Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
…grisly true-crime drama… two hours of sweat, blood and cheerful, nasty vulgarity, punctuated by voice-over ruminations about Jesus, physical fitness and the American dream, along with a few tactical visits to a strip club. …
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
…recounting a horrific Miami crime… an unusual, genre-defying movie—this is at heart a crime drama, but told through the prism of absurdist humor—and the story gets so wild, including a dim-bulb stripper who believes she’s working for the CIA, that a title card flashes late in the film to remind you “This is still a true story.”… [3/4]
Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald
…Michael Bay delivers all “Pain,” no “Gain”… This true story of Miami mayhem is muddled, grisly and misogynistic as clumsily directed…
Claudia Puig, USA TODAY
…never mind the death penalty sentence handed down in this case, Pain & Gain does indeed invite us all to empathize with these brutal bodybuilders, to suspend any sense of moral judgment for a couple of hours and just have a good, if dark, laugh. …
Adam R. Holz, Plugged In
…a pretty good movie, with some wild style and surprising turns. … a strange contradiction—a polished piece of crude entertainment. …
Stephen Whitty, The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)
…As usual with Bay, the visual and aural style is as over-hydrauliced as the events of display, resulting in an inevitable feeling of overkill. …
Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter
…this black comedy about balloon-armed dolts and infantile women with porn-star bodies plays like Goodfellas as performed by the Three Stooges. As a genre-mashing exercise it’s almost interesting but, really, why bother?… [2/4]
Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail

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