Hustle - Complete Season One DVD Review

Although the premise of Hustle just sounds a lot like a television series based on Ocean’s 11, with a group of con men that con a crook or greedy individual out of money each episode, the result is actually quite entertaining. This British series has humor, suspense and a little drama thrown in as well. Each episode seems to get better as you grow closer to the center of the group. They bring you in, looking directly at the camera each time a con is hooked, and by the end of the season it feels like the viewer is allowed to be a part of the con.

Adrien Lester is Mickey Stone, a character with a name to fit the smoothness that is injected into the leader in the group of grifters. They build up a thief of grandiose infamy which hasn’t been seen since Billy the Kid. He is a famous thief that nobody can catch in action, so a special force of cops are put on the task of catching him and his band of thieves. The first rule they have is that you can’t cheat an honest man, and allowing for us to see the greed in their marks helps to enjoy watching them get conned all the more.

What makes for the rest of the entertainment is the entertaining cast of characters. Mickey Stone carries an ethical sense which doesn’t seem fit on a crook, which makes him oddly compelling and easy to root for. Equally entertaining is Danny Blue played by Marc Warren. Danny is the new one in the group but he shows potential for being as great if not greater than Mickey in the future. At first he’s just a likable screw-up though. Stacie Monroe is the only female in the group and she bounces back and forth between Danny and Mickey the whole first season, although her loyalties certainly lie with Mickey. Robert Glenister playing Ash Morgan, who can get hit by cars well, and Robert Vaughn playing Albert Stroller, the eldest of the bunch complete the gang.

There are only six episodes in the first season, but they are all consistently entertaining. It seems like the drama builds as the season continues, but the gang gets into a number of rough situations throughout the episodes. The special features include cast bios, which will especially help out any American viewers who aren’t familiar with the cast. There is also a making-of featurette called “Assembling the Team”.