Hustle (TV Series) The Con Is On (2004) User Reviews

The Con Is On

[Prismark10 · 10/10 · 5 June 2020]

There was a period in the early to mid 2000 where BBC drama left ITV for dust. The revived Doctor Who was yet to arrive to the screens. I think the contribution of then Director General Greg Dyke is overlooked. It all happened during his watch.

The first episode of Hustle is just wow. Slick with a capital S.

In truth the opener is an updated remake of The Sting, one character is even called Redford.

Mickey Bricks is out of jail and wants to get his crew back together for one big long con. American Albert Stroller has got the mark and the rest is game on.

Newbie Danny Blue wants to get on Mickey's team. The police are close behind.

It is dazzling, with knowing looks direct to the camera and even speaking to the camera about the rules of the game.

All the marks deserved to be swindled and are even given a chance to walk away but greed holds them back.

I watched it again 16 years later and it is even more dazzling.

The sexiest and most stylish show about the con in a long time!

[scott-marlowe · 25 March 2006]

The premiere episode of Hustle is a great introduction to the crew. In the beginning, it's Albert, the older, gentleman, con-man, Mickey Bricks, the young genius master planner, fresh out of prison, Ashe, the expert, who's been reduced to doing the flop, and Stacy, the femme fatale. Mickey tells them all he's getting them together for one last big score.

The con is crashed by Danny, a young up and comer who seems to always be a heart beat away from being caught. To pay him back for crashing his con, Mickey insists on referring to him as "Mr. Redford" during the con.

This episode has a nice "behind the scenes" feel to it, both from the perspective of the con men and the police inspectors, switching back and forth from one view to the other, letting us become familiar with each side of the con coin, so to speak. For example, near the beginning of the episode, we get to see both the police and the con crew doing a briefing on the upcoming job.

This is one of the slicker and more intricate plots in the series, and it serves well to establish the feel of the show. As usual, there are enough hints for someone who's paying very close attention to figure it out. Barely. Most folks will have to watch it two or three times to see all the hints.

Sweet entertainment inside the box

[igoatabase · 6/10 · 17 June 2011]

Sawyer, the con artist who convinced me to check out Hustle. Indeed like Kate Austen he grew on Lost's fans for 6 seasons so a show featuring a team dedicated to his art seemed irresistible. Well received by the critics and praised for its creativity it still took me a while to watch its pilot. Entertaining but not interesting, it could sum things up. First I found the characters too stereotyped and even if Jaime Murray (Lila Tournay in Dexter) was charming as Stacie Monroe she and the other performers played way too much in their comfort zone, making the acting a little bland. Second it was refreshing to see the cons smiling at the camera while stealing or tricking someone but beside one bullet time sequence I didn't notice anything original enough to blow my happy neurons. Third there was nothing much exciting about the story. A greedy rich man who seduces younger woman with his money ? Déjà vu. Worst despite a skilled writing I was able to predict the end quite early. An other disappointing element was the format. Episodic ? I read something about a long arc but beside the hasty appearance of a wife and their inevitable chasing game with the cops I found nothing enough intriguing to convince me to give Hustle an other chance. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad but I was definitely looking for something more special. In the end it tasted like candy and you won't think about once you have switched off your TV.