Pain & Gain: Michael Bay

I have two sacred rules when it comes to reviewing films:

1) Every film deserves a fair chance and the benefit of the doubt before and while viewing.
2) A film should be judged based on its own merits, not by how it compares to other films.

By following these two rules, I have come to the conclusion that Michael Bay's Pain & Gain is a fantastic film and easily his best work yet. I have always had a...bumpy...relationship with Bay. I've always felt that with his excess, over-reliance on CGI, and offensive writing that he has long represented the very worst of what American cinema has to offer. But in Pain & Gain we see Bay's style finally being matched with a story that actually benefits it. The (regrettably) true story of three bodybuilders who try and extort money from one of the customers who goes to their gym is so incredulous, so far-fetched, and so insane that only Michael Bay could bring it to the big screen. Everything that detracts from his other films works in Pain & Gain. The grotesque gags that are such a trademark of Bay's films seem like exaggerated projections of the characters' inner feelings: when we are with the bodybuilders, everyone looks super-fit and scantily-clad women constantly flash the camera. When we are with the victim, everything takes on an air of desperation and disgust, such as when he witnesses a morbidly obese hospital patient defecate all over a bathroom. I can't emphasize enough how this film only works because of two things: the fact that it is a true story and the fact that it was directed by Michael Bay. So, to Mr. Bay, I offer my congratulations. Now keep it up, sir.

8/10