Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Rebel Wilson, Ed Harris, Tony Shalhoub, Ken Jeong
Directors: Michael Bay
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Release Date: December 3rd, 2013
Run Time: 129 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
I am feeling a little bit of deja vu here, I just reviewing “Pain & Gain” on Blu-ray only a few weeks ago. I was pretty taken back that it was completely bare-bones in terms of special features. So I think Paramount realized they made a mistake and are issuing this Special Collector’s Edition for the holiday season. The only draw for this release is that it includes about an hour of special features and a new (weaker) cover and also leaving out the DVD copy, otherwise it is same release. Unless you are a die-hard Michael Bay fan and really need these bonus features, I would recommend a pass on this release.
If you want slightly more technical review, here is our review for the film and it’s original bare bones Blu-ray, which was released on August 27, 2013. I am honestly not a fan of double-dipping and the first release was really just a way for them to rush the film out onto Blu-ray fast. Since the draw for this release is the extras, so let’s get cracking on them, as are all bundled under “The A Game: Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain”. This consists of eight featurettes are can be viewed as a big one-hour documentary. The extra looks pretty in-depth behind-the-scenes on the production and also touches on true crime events as well. Since this is labeled as a “Special Collector’s Edition”, I would have wanted a bit more than just an hour of extras and there are still no commentary tracks included.
Here is a break down on the eight featurettes included. “Still a True Story: Ripped from the Headlines” looks into the real crime and being turned into a movie with reporter Pete Collins and the real Ed DuBois. “Back to Basics: Michael Bay’s Vision” is a love fest for Bay with himself and the cast talking about the film. “American Dreamer: Daniel Lugo” features Mark Wahlberg talking about his role. “Passion Player: Paul Doyle” is the same thing for Dwayne Johnson’s character. “Dirty Work: Adrian Doorbal” again does the same thing for Anthony Mackie’s role. “Victimless Crime: Victor Kershaw” looks into Tony Shalhoub’s character as well. “Diamonds in the Rough: Locations” talks about shooting locations in Miami. Lastly “The Real Deal: Law Enforcement” talks about the use of real police officers.