"Money won is twice as sweet as money earned."

Rating: 9/10 (13 June 2016)

Following on from "The Hustler" 1961, Paul Newman re-creates his role as "Fast" Eddie Felson, who now appears to be a successful Liquor salesmen after being forced to give up active playing in the first movie. He know is found hanging around Pool Halls staking talented players rather than playing, by all accounts comfortable in terms of earnings and career. Eddie returns as a retired Pool Hustler who finds his new protégé Tom Cruise one night by chance. The movie then speeds up showing the pair hitting the road to "hustle" on their way to a big tournament in Vegas. Tom Cruise character the young "Vincent" who is called a wonderful flake by Eddie in the movie then turns the tides and hustles his mentor during one of the final scenes. Great acting in this movie and Paul Newman, a quite accomplished player himself does most of his own pool shooting during the movie.
What makes this movie stand out, however, is not merely its tremendous cast, from the central trio to Helen Shaver (Eddie's girlfriend Janelle), John Turturro (Julian, the "stake horse" Vincent replaces in Eddie's favor), Scorsese's dog Zoe (credited as "dog walk-by"!), Iggy Pop, and several top pool players, e.g. Steve "The Miz" Mizerak, Jimmy "Pretty Boy Floyd" Mataya (together with wife Eva also technical adviser) and Keith McCready (Vincent's nemesis Grady Seasons). Moreover, nobody could have captured the pool halls' dingy allure, a trick shot's swift precision and the balls' movement over the table quite like Michael Ballhaus - there's a reason they call him "Hollywood's Eye." And then there's the score, by the "Band's" ringleader Robbie Robertson; featuring contributions from a virtual who-is-who of rock and blues's all time greatest, including Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Don Henley, Warren Zevon, Phil Collins, Robert Palmer and Percy Sledge; pointedly framing all key scenes and doubling the edge of the cue balls' and characters' collisions alike. This is a classic acting lesson on how less is more, and I think you can tell from his own growth as an actor that Tom Cruise was either taking notes or has been watching this particular film more often than he has his blockbusters.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10.