The Second Season

The British television series Hustle first aired in 2004. The show is about a group of honorable grifters (con artists) who work "long cons" and swindle the rich out of their money. Since they are honorable criminals, they only con people who are bad or have obtained their money in some illegal way. The show has a feel to it that is much like recent remakes of popular Hollywood films such as The Italian Job and Ocean's Eleven. For more details about this series, please refer to DVD Talk's review of season one.

Hustle's lineup includes five characters. Mickey Stone (Adrian Lester) is the leader of the bunch. He is intelligent, methodical, and sees all of the angles in a con. Danny Blue (Marc Warren) is the most recent addition to the team. He is egotistical, cocky, and a fun guy. He brings a light humor to the group. Stacie Morgan (Jaime Murray) brings sex appeal to the team. She an attractive girl who uses her looks to deceive marks. Ashley Morgan (Robert Glenister) brings technical expertise. He can make special props or handle electronics as needed. Albert Stoller (Robert Vaughn) is the veteran con artist and Mickey's mentor. His role on the team is to help identify new marks to con.

In the second season, the admirable grifters continue their gambits and swindle a variety of bad guys from their pocket books. In most of the episodes, the group puts together a con to get back at someone who hurt them or one of their friends. This leads to corrupt cops, old spouses, former gangsters, etc. As for the quality, the stories tend to be good. They offer inventive tales that are easy to get into and appreciate. The acting is generally good, although sometimes the characters are a bit one-sided.

One of my favorite episodes this season was "Missions", which features a corrupt Detective Inspector who tries to force her way into Mickey's pocket book. The episode unfolds a fun mystery and a great con. This episode is a clear indication of how exciting and engaging this series can be. The other episodes this season were also quite good and have more than enough content for viewers to enjoy.

Overall, I thought that the second season of Hustle was a solid collection of episodes. The series is fun and engaging. Those who enjoy movies like The Italian Job and Ocean's Eleven will appreciate the tone Hustle has.

Episode Guide

1. Gold Mine: Mickey, Danny, Albert, Ash and Stacie return from a well-earned break to discover that old time grifter Harry Holmes (played by Ronald Pickup) has been banged up. After attempting to con ruthless property developer, Howard Jennings (played by Charlie Creed Miles), Holmes may be in for a long stretch. Jennings has been stung before and won't be out-smarted by anyone - or so he thinks.....
2. Confessions: The gang are on the verge of completing a job but Albert's gone AWOL. When he finally appears it's all too late because 'the mark' has pulled out - but Albert has a new plan. After spotting Johnny Keyes (played by Stanley Townsend) - a prominent restaurateur with a notorious gangland background - in a church, he goes undercover as a priest to hear Keyes' confession. Ill health means that Keyes is worried about never finding James, the son he lost years before to a gangland kidnapping. He's consumed by guilt for not paying the ransom but has no idea where his son is.
3. The Lesson: Danny has found a potential new member of the gang, Trevor (played by Lee Ingleby). He's a short con artist, who's very good at what he does, but his marks are not always the greedy; he also targets the elderly and the poor.... However, he's looking for his big break and Danny thinks he can mentor Trevor as Mickey has for him. But the team are not as taken with Trevor as Danny, and Danny threatens to walk if they won't give Trevor a chance.

4. Missions: The team's plan to con an auction house with a comic book forgery goes awry when corrupt copper, Sam Phillips (played by Fay Ripley), decides she wants in on the play. Sam barges in on Mickey and Danny to discover they're working on a big scam. Sam wants in and if they won't make her a partner, she'll arrest them.
5. Old Acquaintance: When Stacie claps eyes on her estranged husband Jake (played by Max Beesley), who left her five years ago taking everything she owned with him, she's certain he is to be the gang's next mark. Having graduated from the short con world to the professional poker circuit, he's good and he won't be an easy target. But the team swear to exact revenge on him for Stacie.
6. Eye of the Beholder: Mickey's got a plan and this one is like no other. They're going to steal the Crown Jewels. Initially, the gang assume Mickey is joking - they are not thieves but Mickey asks them to trust him and so they reluctantly agree to the elaborate con. This will be the biggest challenge they'll ever undertake, but Mickey's convinced they're good enough to pull it off...

The DVD

Video:
The video in this release is given in an anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color format. The picture quality is quite good. It suffers from a slight grain, but detail remains to be sharp and clear. However, there are moments when the picture suffers compression artifacts and other minor visual distortions.

Audio:
The audio in this release is in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo. The quality is quite good. The sound is fairly flat, which is due the show being dialogue driven.

Extras:
For extras, there is a two-part featurette entitled "The Big Finish". Part 1 (16:29) and Part 2 (13:55) are respectively located on disc 1 and 2. The content offer behind the scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew. There are segments of script reading, filming, interviews, etc. It is a decent featurette and will make for a nice watch after completing the season episodes. There are also cast biographies to check out.

Final Thoughts:
Hustle is a British television series about a group of con artists who hustle people (usually bad people) out of their money. What I like about this show is how well it is executed and presented. The plotlines are not transparent and the cons are laid out in a way that is fun to follow. The characters are also likeable. For those who enjoy films like The Italian Job and Ocean's Eleven, Hustle has a similar tone that should be enjoyable, with light banter and humor.