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User Reviews for: The Color of Money

bladefd
7/10  5 months ago
‘The Color of Money’ is a Martin Scorsese film, but it didn’t feel like one. Newman returns as Fast Eddie Felson from 1961’s ‘The Hustler’ 25 years earlier in his career. Fast Eddie had quit pool hustling years ago and opted for a liquor-selling business. That changes when he meets Vincent (Tom Cruise), a young, exuberant pool shark with talent and swagger. Eddie takes Vincent under his wing, teaching him the art of pool hustling. They agree on a 60-40 split of the winnings, with Eddie taking 60%. Vincent’s girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) accompanies them, as they go around hustling victims who fall for their scheming trickery. Eddie teaches Vincent that “money won is twice as sweet as money earned.” Fast Eddie’s old thrills return, but with age catching up and Vincent’s flashy personality, frustrations mount between the two.

This film held so much promise, especially considering the cast. One would expect so much more from a film starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise and directed by the legendary Scorsese. However, it didn’t happen. First, the goods. The acting from all three lead actors is very good, especially the ever-charismatic Newman, who is a seamless natural. Young Cruise was loud, energetic, and full of showmanship, but it’s clear why directors were captivated by him and offered him roles. Despite his off-the-screen controversial and oddball personality, he is a very talented actor with entertainment written all over him. Except for one shot, Cruise performs his own trick shots in the film, as is his trademark throughout his career. The pool games in their vibrant locations have neat cinematography in Scorsese style; it was just right to keep you interested but not excessive. I thought the dialogue was pretty catchy. For the bads, several scenes dragged on occasionally, and the script could have been better. The editing could have been tighter to increase the pacing a bit. A few interesting tidbits. The video game ‘Doom’ got its name from a Tom Cruise dialogue in this film. Actor Forest Whitaker made his film debut here, later becoming popular in the following decades. During the production of this film, Newman took Cruise to a car race and taught him the ropes of racing, a skill that Cruise would perform in his future films.

Would I recommend this? I don’t think this film is worth watching. I can’t recommend it unless if you are a fan of Scorsese/Newman/Cruise and just want to tick that you watched this film. There were too many underwhelming moments to not leave me a little disappointed.
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