American Hustle

A little bit too overcomplicated, definitely. But David O. Russell played with every little detail and chose great actors for the main roles. Bale is great in an untraditional (obese) role, but the fact that it’s good is thanks to the team work where everybody does they are meant to and the result speaks for itself. It’s not Oscar material, but it’s still a great fun without trying too much, jokes firing away throughout the whole movie. Incredible costumes. (03/02/2014)

A retro farce with great costumes that nonetheless unfolds at a sluggish pace and is full of actors showing off unnecessarily. I consider American Hustle far from masterfully directed. On the contrary, at such a slow pace, it is striking that the ambitious plot disintegrates in the tangle of character motivations that got out of hand. But would you do any better if there was a scantily clad Amy Adams prancing around your set? The acting performances are fantastic, however. Christian Bale tries hard, but Jennifer Lawrence turns in the best performance here. Amy Adams is super-hot (let’s be honest – would you be able to restrain yourself in the bathroom scene?) and the icing on the cake is the unexpected Mr. “XY” from Miami in the best mafia role in recent memory. With his appearance, the pace picks up a little. The nomination for best film and director was probably secured by Bale’s necklace. (01/27/2014)

We weren’t wrong about David O. Russel the first time. American Hustle wants to be a refreshing, engaging and vibrant gangster movie and manages it quite well. At times, it tries too hard, especially with the at times surprisingly and intentionally weird behaviour of some of the characters, but it never gets to the point of bothering me. The performances are superb without exception. It’s delivered as a comedy and I take it as such. This time Russel doesn’t try to unsuccessfully portray romantic relationships or social conflicts, which I take it as a plus. For me, good fun and satisfaction. (01/05/2014)

I feel cheated. The film lured me in by assembling some of my favorite actors. I watched more than two hours of a boring attempt at Ocean's Eleven from the 70s. The intention of the filmmakers fell completely flat, I was bored. Plus, it was obvious from the start how the whole spectacle would turn out. I’m giving two stars for Christian Bale's comb-over and Bradley Cooper's hair curlers. (01/01/2017)

Omniscient narrators, stylish slow moments, and a dancing Bradley Cooper as the director's good luck charm. The master David O. Russell has not only mastered the art of pushing actors to unforgettable performances, but has also been conquering the forms of more and more genres. In this cunning mess, he succeeds even better the more superficial and confusing the whole American Hustle seems to other viewers. A tour de force from Amy Adams is just the sweetest cherry on top. (01/30/2014)