American Hustle - Balding Batman

American Hustle is a pretty good crime/con caper, but I can’t go on without mentioning Christian ‘greatest Batman ever’ Bale’s getup.  He looks truly ridiculous.  However, this is totally intentional, as he plays someone as far away from Bruce Wayne as he’s ever likely to get (his hairpiece alone deserves its own credit at the end of the film).  Bale plays a conman, operating in the swinging seventies with his lover (behind his wife’s back, by the way), Amy Adams.  They’re happily scamming away when the fall foul to FBI Agent, Bradley Cooper (with almost as great seventies hair as Bale, only more of it).  To keep them out of prison, he enlists their help setting up a scam to catch the big, political fish with their fins in the proverbial cookie jar.

It’s fair to say that things don’t go according to plan (for anyone!).  And, what you’re left with is watching all the main leads doing their best to stay one step ahead of those who they’re trying to rip off, while also staying one step ahead of each other, before finally staying one step ahead of anyone who might be trying to put a bullet in the back of their heads.

When you get a film with a fair amount of main characters (all vying to make their mark on the picture), you get more plotlines than your average ninety minute movie.  Therefore, you have to stay focused to work out who’s currently double-crossing who.  Plus, despite all the A-list leads giving naturally excellent performances, it doesn’t mean you’ll go away actually liking any of them.  It’s hard to find too much sympathy for people who make their living ripping others off.  Even those representing ‘the law’ are a pretty shallow (and some might say ‘borderline psychotic’) bunch.

However, if you’re looking for an adult con/crime caper with plenty of great (if a little weird-looking) A-list stars then you’ll certainly find what you’re looking for here.

Oh, and if nothing I’ve said convinces you it’s any good, it also has Robert DeNiro thrown in there for an extended cameo – always a bonus!

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one