TVSquad

It only runs over an hour because it's a BBC series and AMC, unlike the BBC, has ads. I can see a movie working out rather well, but I'm also a bit doubtful.

An essential part of every con movie ever made is that there is always a twist in the end. If you don't have that twist there isn't any clash and the viewer is left cold. I mean, where's the fun in seeing a scheme come off perfectly? The person being conned is always really the viewer. Thus the best con films or shows always have a clever, logical twist that isn't predictable, but is something you could have reasonably figured out.

The problem with this is that I tend to be really good at figuring out the twists. The Sixth Sense gave itself away in the first few minutes (well, and the trailers that basically nullify the first half of the film), The Village I didn't even need to see since it was obvious from watching the trailers (and confirmed on release via the internet), The Sting was likewise very predictable and I found it very boring as a result. Other times it's a great twist. Fight Club was just about perfect in this respect and Memento (despite not really having a traditional twist) holds up to repeated viewings (and a brief freeze-frame that seals the deal) to finally figure out what really happened.

Hustle falls into the middle. Some of the episodes are easily figured out while others go off rather cunningly in plain sight. With a TV show though it's generally easier to spot the twist because there's less time for legitimate throwaways. Thus almost everything that seems inconsequential is likely to be relevant in the future. In a movie you have more time to stretch out and lay down some false leads thus giving you a way to fool the audience into accepting the con.

With a larger budget and more time it sounds like a sure winner.

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