Sadly Over-hyped

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

"The Color of Money" stars Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson, an experienced snooker player who leads his protégé, Vincent Lauria, played by a young Tom Cruise, to the wonders of pool hustling. Beware of your expectations. If it was directed by a newcomer or an unknown, this movie would pass as enjoyable and above-average. When one finds out, however, that Martin Scorsese is behind the cameras, that is not enough. Consequently, the overall result is a tad frustrating. Scorsese, here, is a victim of his own success.Arguably, this is one of Scorsese's most conventional movies. For a start, the plot is disappointingly predictable. From the very beginning, we are able to foretell that Felson would pick Vincent as his protégé, that they would eventually split up, and that the two of them would have their final showdown. By the way, that last aspect is what keeps the audience invested through the whole movie. Precisely because of that, the ending is frustrating. Albeit Scorsese's intention is evident, I'm pretty sure the public would opt for a different finale.Having said that, these downsides don't prevent the movie from being a pleasure ride and from leaving a good impression. Newman, Cruise, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (who plays Claire, Vincent's girlfriend) all deliver fascinating performances - especially Newman, whose work granted him his only Oscar.The movie also benefits from a well-constructed character development, as all the main personalities include confidence, vulnerability, and reluctance. Felsen is a shrewd, charming, and strategist man, which contrasts with his late lack of confidence, frustration and lost of control. In turn, Vincent is at the same time tender, cocky, and impulsive - carpe diem seems to be his tacit motto. Finally, Mastrantonio's Claire is enigmatic and enticing, with a strong personality and an intriguing background. The technical issues are also worth praising. Scorsese's good taste when it comes to music is there. The camera-work and editing are unsurprisingly excellent, as that's where lies more vividly the director's touch. "The Color of Money" doesn't rank among Scorsese's best works, but it is still worth watching. Apart from its predictability and the lack of a decent payoff, the movie offers great interpretations and riveting characters. Vote: 7,5.

The Color Of Money movie gave the pool /billiards scene a leg up in the economy and I personally consider it the best pool movie ever made. Paul Newman is hard to beat ladies and gents. The profoundly felt chemistry between Newman and Cruise throughout the film is just very hard to come by nowadays and rare. Most pool players as well as film buffs will appreciate the dialogue a lot in this movie. You don't often find such a pure breed of realistic pool elements as well as theatrical performances as depicted in this film. The color of money deserves credit for boosting the popularity of the "sport" as well as the "game" of pool in the 90's. The world has yet to see a 21st century like film.

It's not necessary, but you'll probably want to watch The Hustler before you watch The Color of Money. In 1961, Paul Newman played "Fast" Eddie, a pool hustler who took on a master player before he was ready. In 1986, he plays "Fast" Eddie, a pool hustler who teaches and trains a younger version of himself. Basically, in the remake he's Paul Oldman instead of Paul Newman. Oh, and he won a make-up Oscar.So, if you liked The Hustler and it won't break you up to see "Fast" Eddie with gray hair, getting made fun of by a cocky, young upstart, you'll probably be able to sit through The Color of Money. But the original is so much better; there's tension and drama rather than comic relief jokes. Tom Cruise plays the younger version of Paul Newman, but he's not as likable as his predecessor. And in this version, Paul Newman doesn't even try to act. He walks through it, as if he knows he's going to win an undeserved Oscar and he's ticked off about it. My advice: just watch The Hustler twice instead.

Every great director makes a few stinkers, and this is certainly one of Scorcesese's. The problem is he committed a movie "mortal sin" - he actually made Paul Newman look uncool playing a character he had played previously who was very cool. That is unforgivable.************SPOILERS AHEAD********************As with so many bad movies it really comes down to a ridiculous script. Eddie Felson, a billiards phenom in his younger days who had been used and tossed away by an unscrupulous gambler, is older and wiser and now acts as the unscrupulous gambler by bankrolling young pool sharks . . . Huh? Did Eddie learn nothing from his earlier experience. A rather unbelievable character flaw considering where Eddie was at the end of "The Hustler"Eddie decides to go on the road with a hotshot young pool player named Vincent (Tom Cruise) who is crazily cocky, dumb as a box of rocks, and presented in a smarmy way-over-the-top manner by Cruise. Vince has a girlfriend named Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who early on reveals that she has no scruples herself. Uh, wait a minute. In "The Hustler" Eddie got involved with a girl, took her on a pool/gambling road trip with his evil gambler mentor and, without giving away the twists of that much better movie, lets just say it ended very badly. Wow, it seems Eddie has contracted a real bad case of memory loss which causes him to make every mistake he has made before. Who's is writing this dreck?The implausibility's get worse. Eddie gives Vince a very valuable cue stick, sort of a gift to convince him to become his protégé. Then he tells Vince to not use it when he plays - any savvy pool player will see it and immediately identify Vince as a hustler. Okay, so why give it to the brash and volatile young Vincent? Of course Vince goes out without Eddie and takes the cue and mucks up Eddie's gambling game plan. Eddie gets mad and drives his car away, with Vince trying to chase him down like a jilted girlfriend. Then Vince gets mad and Eddie gets in his car and chases down Vince, like an older jilted girlfriend. Meanwhile Carmen is disrobing in front of Eddie every chance she gets. Then they all make up. Then the wise, sage pool hustler Eddie Felson devises a con job which involves putting his grubby old guy hands all over Carmen, knowing full well how jealous and insecure Vince is about his relationship with Carmen. This leads to a cringe-worthy scene after the con job in which Vince acts like the immature teenager he obviously is while Carmen and Eddie try to placate his anger by saying, "We were just acting!" It made me feel a little dirty, watching the great Paul Newman explaining how actors who kiss in movies don't really mean it. Who put these words in his mouth?There's more, including one of Scorcesese's most gratuitous camera spins, doing 360's around Newman like some drunk teenager doing donuts in his souped-up Chevy in a supermarket parking lot, but why continue? This is simply a bad movie, all the more embarrassing because it almost taints the memory of its superior predecessor . . . almost.On the plus side, Newman looks great, MEM is very sexy, and Forrest Whitaker turns up in a great cameo as a slightly crazy pool hustler. His character was more interesting during his brief screen time than anything Newman and Cruise could muster. The rotten cherry on top of this melted pile of ice cream is the fact that THIS is the film for which Newman won his only Oscar. My advice for Newman fans (of which I am definitely one) is to avoid "The Color of Money" and remember the legendary actor for all his other great performances.