"American Hustle" is a film filled with fantastic performances, wrapped within a tepid and directionless story. In the end, the title is extremely fitting because I felt like I had the wool pulled over my eyes.
The film starts off interesting enough with Christian Bale's Irving Rosenfeld orchestrating one of the most elaborate comb-overs known to man. The care and meticulousness he puts into the procedure is completely fitting to the character because he runs his cons the same way. After this spectacle, the film pretty much peaks, and the only thing that keeps viewers entertained are the performances themselves.
Bale goes through another one of his calling-card transformations to become Irving, and it's worth every minute. You quickly forget that you're watching Bale and become enthralled by his character and all of his quirks. The breakout star of the film has to be Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser. Adams does such a fantastic job of breathing life into her character that it makes you forget that she was in "Man of Steel."
While Bale and Adams are the best performances in the bunch, their co-stars all hold their own. The characters are all so fantastic in this film that it's hard to believe the movie itself is so mundane. The movie itself can't decide what direction it wants to go in. One minute, it's a con movie, and the next minute it's not. Even with the twist ending, and I use that term lightly, there never feels like there's a big payoff, and that's mostly because you never feel any of the characters are in any real danger.
"American Hustle" is at least worth a viewing to see all of these actors shine, but beyond that, the film is completely forgettable.
The Blu-ray release includes a making-of featurette, as well as deleted and extended scenes.
Film: 3 Yaps Extras: 3 Yaps