cult film freak: OLIVER REED PLAYS THE CONNED BADDIE IN 'THE STING 2'

Written by James M. Tate / 5/27/2014 / No comments / eighties , martin matthews , oliver reed , seventies , sixties , yvonne romain

OLIVER REED PLAYS THE CONNED BADDIE IN 'THE STING 2'

5/27/2014 | No comment

1983 rating: **1/2

Not sure what Hollywood was thinking. "Let's make a sequel to THE STING and replace Paul Newman and Robert Redford with Jackie Gleason and Mac Davis."

But it's really not too bad. Seems like a made-for-TV flick that you watch digesting dinner. Gleason and Davis are grifters pulling two cons at once: screwing doofus kingpin Karl Malden out of money on a fixed boxing match and getting revenge on baddie Oliver Reed... playing Robert Shaw's character from the original... for killing a fellow grifter. In this role, and providing a legit edge throughout, Reed takes Shaw's villain to the hilt, making him someone not just worth ripping off, but stopping... permanently. Which won't be an easy task.

There are some fun moments; nothing gained, nothing lost overall. The main con gets a bit confusing as Davis pretends to be a professional boxer, but the little moments in-between are enough to carry things moderately. Mac Davis and gal drifter Teri Garr try their best to carry things along while Jackie Gleason is basically collecting an easy paycheck. Thankfully we have Oliver Reed to remind us, and the characters, there's always something to lose.

Share This Post :

Tags : eighties , martin matthews , oliver reed , seventies , sixties , yvonne romain

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER