Newman finally gets his Oscar

Rating: 6/10 (6 September 2017)

With seven Academy Award nominations, it appeared that Paul Newman, at age 60, might end his career in the ranks of top Hollywood entertainers never to have won an Oscar. In his case, it included leading actor roles in six films and as director of one. Five of the acting roles and his only director nomination were up against stiff competition. But, he won the best actor Oscar for this 1986 film. Never mind that it was a year with not much competition for best actor. But for Ben Kingsley's "Gandhi" in 1982, Newman would have won an Oscar that year for his role in "The Verdict."
Newman is very good as Fast Eddie Felson. "The Color of Money" is very good but nowhere near great, as are some other films of 1986 – "Platoon," "The Mission," "A Room with a View." But only one actor from those top films was nominated for best actor (William Hurt, for "Children of a Lesser God"). Except for Hurt's film, the others with best actor nominations were all lesser known films of the year. The performances by the best actor nominees probably was very good, but without any other big names from big films, this might just have been a year when the Academy made a sentimental choice.
The film also stars a very young Tom Cruise who, in just the past couple of years had scored a couple of blockbuster films. So, he clearly was on his way to stardom and top billing, very soon. The rest of the cast are fine in this film. It's a movie about pool shooting. It has some nice moments of drama, but otherwise drags a little in places. Naturally, there's a considerable amount of time showing pool games. Those who like to play pool or billiards should enjoy this film. Most of those who don't care for pool probably will find the movie slow or boring.
It's nice that Paul Newman won his Oscar for this film. He was a top entertainer for a few decades – though not one of the great actors, or best entertainers. He was one of the best humanitarians, and many fans appreciated him as much for his genuine charity and goodwill.
See this film if you like to shoot pool, or like Paul Newman or Tom Cruise. Otherwise, don't go out of your way to watch or buy it.