The first thing this movie has going for it are the lead actors. I mean c’mon! Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen. That great poster of the two of them just draws you in and honestly, that is enough. Do not watch a trailer for this movie first.
So on to the actual movie. Ian McKellan does a great job as an aging con man that says he’s in it for the money but at his age its most definitely the adrenaline rush. As the story unfolds it hits on the con artist beats but the whole movie I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I could just feel it.
The director, Bill Condon, and the writers, Jeffrey Hatcher and Nicholas Searle, try to play a little rope-a-dope with the audience but they did not get me with the first reveal. I knew there was more and boy was it good.
It was a slow-ish start but once it got moving I was really loving this movie. Even though I saw most of it coming it managed to surprise me and of course, the performances from the leads make it worth seeing off the top.
