Fast Eddie Felson finds promising pool player Vincent in a local bar and he sees in him a younger version of himself.
To try and make it like he did 25 years ago, Eddie offers to teach Vincent how to be a hustler. After some hesitation, Vincent accepts and Eddie takes him and Vincent's girlfriend on a tour through the country to work the pool halls.
However, Vincent's tendency to show off his talent, warning off the players and losing money, soon leads to confrontation. with Eddie....
The film shouldn't have worked, back when this film was made, it was a rarity to have a twenty five year old classic to have a sequel out of the blue, and be actually any good.
But this pulls it off, and then some. Newman is wonderful as the ageing hustler, and every loss and every dollar lost, is etched on his acting and his swagger.
Cruise gives just as good as Vincent, and at the same time, he's likable and insufferable, not the Cruise we've had since 1990.
Scorcese pulls the viewer in and makes the most mundane situations electrifying, who else could make a bunch of old men sitting in a room smoking and drinking hitting balls this exciting.
and the final twist, is not just brilliant, it's crushing to Eddie.
The soundtrack is great, adding to the narrative, and all in all it's a brilliant story about coming to terms with getting old and losing certain skills, and despite the fact that it's a fun movie also, it's pretty depressing when you look at it from Eddies point of view.
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