A film about some crooks trying to con the con men cannot be really bad. If Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner are in it, even better. I do not even mind Christian Bale here, sometimes he delivers solid performances, and this is one example (supported by plenty of body fat and makeup). While I do not quite understand the enthusiasm that was expressed by many critics, I found the story of the small-time forged-art-salesman and bank-loan con man Irving Rosenfeld amusing, and whenever I felt I had seen this or that scene in this or that other movie before, or whenever I felt a little underwhelmed by how straightforward the narrative played out, there was another Bradley Cooper fashion extravaganza to distract me from the boredom that was lurking around the corner.
It was Cooper’s character, actually, that I found most interesting, with his eagerness, his almost manic dedication to getting the crooked politicians, losing perspective about what he is actually willing to do to get them. His energy, and the collapse of it, gives dynamic to an otherwise moderately paced movie with a slightly prodding plot. Go for the wigs, not the drama…
thomas4cinema 