The Color of Money1986

The Scorses-a-thon Scorsese just gets better and better. I will say this movie is as much the editing as anything else. Just totally beautiful. I definitely like it better than last time. Or maybe I like it the same but different? The last time I saw it, my only context was Tom Cruise. Now my context is Scorsese and Paul Newman.  Just so interesting as a sequel because it is and at the same time it’s so different and original. Because it feels like we should be following Tom Cruise but with Newman as the mentor and it is that for like the first two acts. It’s about Vincent but through the perspective of fast Eddie. But it still feels like it’s supposed to be Vincent’s movie. And so it feels weird that when the characters split up, we stick with Eddie. And then suddenly we’re all in on fast Eddie and he’s getting a montage and he’s practicing and getting better and better. Then he goes to the tournament in Atlantic City. And it is just solely his movie from the moment they split up until the end.  I think an issue is that there’s a lot I don’t understand and watching The Hustler didn’t help really at all. The fast Eddie from the first movie is a very different fast Eddie from The Color of Money which I think to an extent is the point. He’s got to reclaim his glory. But I never get the full picture of how he lost it in the first place. Did he just give up after he won at the end of The Hustler? But why? Because of what happened in that movie or because of some mysterious other thing? I feel like he and the movie itself are just vague on that motivation. Does he just want to win to prove he’s not an old fart? I don’t know.  I just can’t quite connect with it. I really like it. It’s gorgeous and I do think it’s better than The Hustler in most ways. I’ll definitely watch it again. But until I can fully understand it, it won’t be a true favorite.  I also want to add how impressive it is watching Scorsese grow and change with each film. This movie is so 80s, which is interesting seeing how much his movies seem to be inspired by and in conversation with classic films. So it’s fascinating to see a movie that is literally a sequel to a classic film be so modern. And something that feels like a real crowd-pleaser at that.  There’s a lot to love here, and I feel like my problems with it are solely on me. One of these days, I’ll figure it out, and I’ll be able to go all in.