THEIR AMERICAN DREAM IS BIGGER THAN YOURS.
In 1995, ex-con and personal trainer Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) talks two other bodybuilders (Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie) into helping him kidnap and extort a wealthy gym member. Michael Bay’s stab at a “simpler” film between his Transformers epics was based on a series of newspaper articles by Pete Collins detailing a real-life criminal operation in Miami. Bay was obviously inspired by Martin Scorsese, although the Florida color scheme looks as artificial as in his Bad Boys movies. The cast is fun, but the bloody shenanigans turn a bit exhausting after an hour.
2013-U.S. 129 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Michael Bay. Cast: Mark Wahlberg (Daniel Lugo), Dwayne Johnson (Paul Doyle), Anthony Mackie (Adrian Doorbal), Ed Harris, Tony Shalhoub, Rob Corddry… Rebel Wilson, Ken Jeong, Peter Stormare.
Trivia: John Turturro was allegedly first cast in Shalhoub’s role.
