The Color of Money

Talk about a rush and new found vitality. It has been awhile since Fast Eddie Felson seriously picked up a pool cue. The clever hustler takes a young, flashy shooter under his wing. The not well hidden agenda is to get back into the action on the coattails of his young protege. Great sequel. Martin Scorsese's camera work makes shooting pool a form of artistic expression. Paul Newman is in top form in his reprise role of Eddie Felson. Tom Cruise is super as the talented, cocky and fearless Vincent Lauria. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is the alluring girlfriend of Vincent. She partners with Fast Eddie to propel the protege to his finest hour. John Turturro, Bill Cobbs and Helen Shaver also appear. The film grabs a hold and won't let go.

Near excellent sequel to "The Hustler" which returns Paul Newman (finally in an Oscar-winning role) as the old wise former hustler who decides to take young jerk Tom Cruise and his hot, but shady girlfriend (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in her Oscar-nominated role) on the road to take advantage of all pool table challengers. Newman's reprise of his greatest role is truly something to experience. He is at the top of his career in this one, playing a quiet and complicated role of a man who has been tortured by time, loss and missed dreams of total success. Martin Scorsese's subtle and focused direction stays on task throughout and he lets his three outstanding leads do the bulk of the work. Not quite as good as "The Hustler" due to a weaker screenplay and less suspense, but still a very memorable cinematic experience. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) discovers a cocky, young pool player Vincent (Tom Cruise) in a local bar. Along with Vincent's girl Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), he tries to teach the youngster all that he knows about the hustle. Tom Cruise overplays the cocky arrogant characters. At times, he plays him like a cartoon character. Luckily Paul Newman could bring the acting chops to this movie. When Paul's character loses to Amos (Forest Whitaker), you see a history of the man's failures. You felt his defeat emotionally. Martin Scorsese directs this. I wonder if Martin Scorsese held back a little. The violence and grittiness for which he's known for isn't all there. They're traveling the darkest and lowest pool halls, but it could have been much worst.