THE STING is a fine 1930s-set comedy adventure film re-teaming Paul Newman and Robert Redford after the runaway success of BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. I found it more enjoyable than their previous outing thanks to the intense storyline, which is set in the world of gangsters and gambling and features oodles of suspense and tension as the two men attempt to pull off one of the biggest scams in history.
The thing that becomes quickly apparent when watching THE STING is just how well written it is. The script is very clever without being obnoxiously so and the involving opening set-piece is a fine example of this. Newman plays in support here and has less screen time than I expected, but the film belongs to Redford anyway and he's a delight, the best I've seen him. The third player in the thing is Robert Shaw, who brings level of quiet intensity to the picture that makes his character even more imposing than the famous henchman role he essayed in FROM Russia WITH LOVE.
Although THE STING has a long running time, not a moment of it feels slow or boring. Instead it keeps moving through interesting set-pieces, mainly focused on gambling (which is a fascinating cinematic subject matter in the right hands) but also including a number of decent foot chases too. Everything builds to a classic climax that rounds off an excellent film overall.
The thing that becomes quickly apparent when watching THE STING is just how well written it is. The script is very clever without being obnoxiously so and the involving opening set-piece is a fine example of this. Newman plays in support here and has less screen time than I expected, but the film belongs to Redford anyway and he's a delight, the best I've seen him. The third player in the thing is Robert Shaw, who brings level of quiet intensity to the picture that makes his character even more imposing than the famous henchman role he essayed in FROM Russia WITH LOVE.
Although THE STING has a long running time, not a moment of it feels slow or boring. Instead it keeps moving through interesting set-pieces, mainly focused on gambling (which is a fascinating cinematic subject matter in the right hands) but also including a number of decent foot chases too. Everything builds to a classic climax that rounds off an excellent film overall.