A stylish and fun film that unfortunately lacks the depth and strong characterization of its predecessor

Rating: 7/10 (3 May 2019)

25 years after Paul Newman starred as "Fast" Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961), he reprised his role and teamed up with another legend in Martin Scorsese to bring us The Color of Money (1986). Undoubtedly stylish and entertaining, it seems to lack the depth and atmospheric feel of "The Hustler". Cruise gives an honest but not terribly likeable performance as Vincent Lauria and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio does well with what she's given. I think the problem was some of the performances came off slightly cartoonish, though I suppose it's difficult to fully recapture the realism and magic that we had with "The Hustler", far and away one of the greatest films of the '60s. Scorsese takes a different approach here and allows his art of a filmmaker to shine through during the pool scenes, which are handled fairly artistically through innovative angles and shots (no pun intended). It's most certainly got style but the substance just wasn't what it could have been given where it's come from.