Come for the plot, stay for the people

Rating: 7/10 (28 April 2014)

This movie is good for what it is. It has almost everything you'd want in a crime caper - its funny, its slick, the soundtrack is great, the cast have fantastic chemistry, but the plot.........well, meh.
There should be no doubt that by now you will either be hearing great things or bad things about this movie. Some think its Oscar gold, whilst most think of it as the most overrated movie in a decade. Well make no mistake, the film is by no means Oscar material and I think that hype hurt the films reviews somewhat. If the film had not been hyped up so much, people might have liked it more. It's not really an award worthy movie (at least not the amount that the film has got), but is a good movie on it's own. The cast shine in their roles, but when you're up against films like 12 Years a Slave, a heist movie can only go so far at the academy. The banter between the characters is also very funny, almost reminiscent of Scorcese-esque dialogue. Even when the characters are angry, you can't help but laugh. The only real weak point of the movie is the plot and how it's executed. The plot concerns a group of con men who gradually get in deeper and deeper with the FBI and the mafia due to their scams. At times you will be wondering "where is this movie going" or "wait, what just happened". Sometimes the plot moves forward in importance very suddenly without emphasizing it to the viewer and the inner workings of the scam will go over your head unless you're in the same line of work, study it very extensively or are very familiar with the scam that the film is based on. It's the kind of plot that will have your brain scrambled by the end of it, and to be honest, I don't see that plot being understood better through multiple viewings.
All in all, American Hustle is a good solid movie if you just want funny banter and characters, but I wouldn't go into this movie expecting a great plot if I were you.