ben_cornell Not perhaps the worst film of all time but possibly the most bland and uninteresting. Characters you can't care about suffering first world problems that you can't get excited about. Waste of 2 hours. I am not sure it is possible to fill the required ten lines of text for this review, because the is so little of interest to say about this film. I really can't believe somebody didn't just say no. I can't believe Al Pacino is in such a weak film. I think a film about the trials and tribulations of Al Pacino going to the supermarket and cooking lunch would have been more interesting, perhaps his newspaper could be slightly damaged as a major plot twist. That would be one up on this film.

Prismark10 Al Pacino continues his run of starring alongside a younger rising star. In Two for the Money he plays Walter Abrams, domineering, highly strung sports book adviser and former gambling addict with a dodgy heart.Matthew McConaughey plays Brandon Lang, a former American Footballer whose out of the game permanently due to a knee injury but has an instinctive ability to call the game and game-plays.Abrams takes Lang under his wing as his protégé, grooming him, shaping him, changing his clothes, style and even his name as Lang picks winners and attracts big time gamblers who bet more on more each week.The film itself is standard text of a sports drama film with first you see the coaching of the young star, then his swift rise to the top and then the catalyst that leads to a decline before the film heads for a finish.In this case Abrams refuses to share the wealth with Lang who is now attracting high rollers and Lang hits self destruct and starts to pick losers affecting the company and his clients who are losing big time. Of course from very early on from Pacino's full on performance as larger than life Abrams, this is a person you can never keep up with and he is in fact warned early on by Abrams's wife played by Rene Russo.Of course the biggest problem from the outset is that we see Pacino play these characters before and you see a trail already as where this film is going. Also we have to swallow just because a person has played the game, understands the game he can call the game. In that case, surely other footballers could do the same? Sports is based on many factors such as mistakes, slips, bad calls and incidents rather than pure skill from the other side, it what makes the game exciting and difficult to predict.So what starts as mildly interesting is as predictable as a tame roller coaster ride. Nothing too exciting but both leads have charm enough to keep you watching.

Michael O'Keefe Money, money, money. If you don't any...you want some. And thanks to unhappy people wanting money fast, other people get richer. Matthew McConaughey plays Brandon Lang, a former outstanding college football star that suffers a career ending injury. His life isn't in the crapper just yet, because he has the uncanny talent of predicting winners and losers on the gridiron. He gets the attention of Walter Abrams(Al Pacino), one of the biggest sports consulting moguls in the business. Abrams takes the hunky Lang under his wing and with a leg up soon both are pulling in an ugly amount of money. When things start to turn sour for Brandon, Abrams puts on the pressure and that leads to a duel of con against con. Stakes escalate and the high rolling lifestyle is in danger of petering out. The bigger they come, the harder they fall.D.J. Caruso directs and Dan Gilroy writes. The only drawback I can find is maybe the running time of 2 hours and a bit. Of course, those that are not sports minded will pass on this anyway. Fine supporting cast: Rene Russo, Jeremy Piven, Armand Assante and Jaime King.

mdp214 I found this movie to be very entertaining and the idea does come at a good time as sports gambling is bigger than ever. It portrays the pros and cons and dangers of betting on sports and with several big names, the movie is worth while for someone who hasn't seen it yet. I think some of the acting was overdone and I thought the movie was just too "fake" at times. I know they cannot show real NFL games but some of the sports highlights and broadcasts were just blatantly not real and sometimes over the top. I think the acting was over the top as well, especially when everyone is sitting around watching the big games towards the end.One specific scene where it is too "fake" for me is when they go 14-0 in the big weekend. In the final game they are watching Pacino says "if they score we win." There was several seconds left on the clock and the team that scored had the lead. In any football game, the team with the ball would have downed the ball and ran the clock out. 100% this would happen every single time, especially in the NFL (and with a 1 possession lead). I just personally think the games and plays were thrown together so carelessly that it's almost offensive to any sports knowledged person viewing the movie.Personally, I do not find McConaughey's character believable. His characters turns a complete 180 and he is way too over the top at moments. He becomes too arrogant and non-likable. While I know that people change, I just think the acting wasn't as well portrayed as it could be.One problem I do have with the bad reviews and some of my comments is that this movie is actually based off of a true story, so while people complain about certain scenes and certain plots, the movie is supposedly following the life of the real Brandon Lang, as he told it and explained the events that had occurred.One personal comment about one thing the movie portrays. In the scene where Amir lost everything and calls McConaughey's character and is yelling at him, following with Lang's character reflecting on how he just ruined someone's life, I personally hate this stereotype. I do not like this scene at all as it is a terrible portrayal of how people's lives are ruined with sports gambling. Amir's character obviously won several hundred thousand dollars, minimum. Then he lost everything in a couple weekends. It shows how some betters will bet everything they have and lose. The movie portrays Lang's character as being at fault here, and trying to have the audience understand that while sympathizing with Amir. I find this to be ridiculous as there is no one at fault but Amir, and the movie does not show enough that it's the better's fault. Amir had a family and took several hundred thousand dollars and lost it all. Yet the movie tries to show that it is completely Lang's fault, and because of this, he has to get out of the business because he can't handle ruining people's lives. This scene just really bothered me as I think Amir's complete collapse just shows his addiction for gambling and his desire not to stop.