Two for the Money

An excellent sports movie about an injured football player meets a man who sells to people in vegas the odds of who will win to get a percentage or commission for the games they can predict. Its an excellent and engaging film plus Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino is always a plus.

I love sports gambling. It’s a world unfamiliar with and one I enjoy dabbling in, legally, from time to time. This was a movie that I thought would be right up my alley with a few well-known actors and a premise I could get behind. My biggest Takeaway from this movie is, the acting was crap. I could go on for days about how everyone mailed in this role, the performances were flat and full of bluster, but I only have so many characters in this review. The very beginning of this film, the intro, was just hot garbage that had no business being in it. Both a young Brendan Lang and the college football version. We’re just hilarious and not needed. The best part was the early stages when he hooks up with Pacino’s character to get their little business going. Halfway through the movie become almost unwatchable. A combination of bad story, bad acting, they had poor decisions at every part of the filmmaking process. There’s unresolved storylines, storylines that don’t make sense, and just a general disregard for flow, performance, and the audience Bottom line is, unless you are a sports gambling junkie and need your fix, I’d pass on this one.

A lot of people hate this film and call it a piece of crap. I call these people, people that have seen it. Don't bother.

What a waste of talents. Something is wrong with this movie. It's on prediction and everything is curiously predictable. So bad.

remembered this movie to be more entertaining on the first watched

If you like Matthew McConaughey, Al Pacino and Rene Russo watch this film. Engaging story, excellent performances.

Mean spirited and immoral movie about targeting gambling addicts for money. All about the "stakes" but for this movie there are none on offer. You will not give a damn after the first 30 mins. You couldn't care less. Unwatchable. Proudly; I did not finish it.

First half of the film is ok but the plot gets bogged down and hits a meandering wall. Has nowhere interesting to go and you're left watching people watching matches and a cliched ending. Not the best work from any of the actors. Maybe Russo is best but the bar is extraordinarily low. Bought as part of two DVD Pacino box set but was really after the other film for the collection. So I literally got two for the money I suppose. Wish I hadn't . It's really poor.

Pacino, as Walter Abrams, has some good scenes here: I enjoyed his first encounters with Brandon Lang (McConaughey), and most particularly his speech at the Gambler's Anonymous meeting. But the fun only lasts for as long as Brandon's winning streak. A little more such similar style and humor would have helped along the way, because the film's balance is both overlong and disappointing. Things become rather depressing about the time McConaughey's Brandon starts losing big—which occurs about the same time he runs out of excuses to work out and take his shirt off for the camera! Separately, Piven and Assante play typical roles, but Russo is good here, although underused.

This movie is not for everyone. If you have lived the gambling life and found yourself chasing and in over your head, you would understand the movie is spot on. And a lot of us have. It captures that gamblers feeling, essence and desperation. For me the movie was a rush. I'm like I lived that life that's how I felt. My favorite line "your a lemon Leon, like a bad car there's something inherently defective in you".