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.

Six years after a career-ending injury, former college football player Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey) is doing little more than a phone service for gamblers. After some amazing success, he is lured to NY to join Walter Abrams (Al Pacino) in his business of gambling predictions. It's a fast talking adrenaline junkie's business and Walter's wife Toni (Rene Russo) tries to keep ever present dangers in check.The story isn't that exciting. The characters are questionable. The big takeaway is the acting. Matthew McConaughey is a master of this brash young guy. He works well with the master Al Pacino. Al has more intensity than the rest of the cast. And Rene Russo has that superior regal airs about her. The movie starts well, but it does slow down around the middle. It is just too long, and the second half gets quite tiresome. Maybe the Pacino intensity wore me out. At the end, I really didn't care about anybody in the movie.

Al is a great actor so it's very annoying to see movies where he's a bad guy. It's like a dear friend turning into an enemy! You know all his capacities but sadly he uses them in a bad way! There, he plays a cynic and Machiavellian boss of a sports counseling firm. His motto is to turn his collaborators into money vacuum by all means. In a great scene of collective therapy, you understand that he is really ill.Beyond Al, the cast isn't really interesting (McConaughey is a masculine Playmate, never missing an occasion to show his body, Russo not much convincing) and the story a bit obscure: if sports bets are illegal, how can they advise freely? Why do they say it is tax-free?

Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey) is an ex-football player, who's now working for a phone service. Which Brandon could foreseeing the results on a game with lack of any professional insight. When Brandon receives an mysterious phone call from Walter Abrams (Oscar-Winner:Al Pacino). Which Walter offers him an job in New York City to join his gambling advising business. When Walter advices Brandon to change his look and name. Brandon's predictions towards Sports Games becomes an major success. Brandon makes plenty of promising clients and he becomes close with Walter and his wife Toni (Rene Russo). But when Brandon's predictions starts to change and his relationship with Walter turns bad. Which Walter isn't always the man, what he seems to be.Directed by D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, The Salton Sea, Taking Lives) made an interesting, modestly entertaining drama. Which is based on a true story on Brandon's fascinating life. The first half of the film works best, when it's funny and kept things moving. But then the second half takes a dark turn and slow going at times. This film is also about redemption towards these characters. McConaughey plays his role, quite well in this movie. Al Pacino's character, love him or hate him. His performance is always quite interesting, despite the many bad turns his character does in the film. Rene Russo gives her best performance here as Brandon's only sympathetic friend.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has an good commentary track by the director and screenwriter:Dan Gilory (Chasers, The Fall, Freejack). DVD also has Deleted Scenes with optional commentaries by the director and screenwriter, making of featurette, interview with the real Brandon (Which his real name is Brandon Link) and Trailer & T.V. Spots. Since his film was an box office disappointment. This is the kind of movie that plays better on DVD. Despite the solid premise of the film. This is worth watching, thanks to the performances of McConaughey, Pacino and Russo. Russo is one of the executive producers of the picture. Don't miss this true-life story. Super 35. (*** ½/*****).