I love it when Sandler plays these more serious roles. While I love him as a comedic actor I genuinely feel like he excels further when he shows his range and is cast for these more serious roles. Hustle isn't really anything groundbreaking and doesn't particularly break any new ground in what we've all seen in most sport movies. But the cast, the tension, music and everything else just works despite hitting all the usual cliches. Just a solid 'feel good' and motivational film. Highly recommend for Sandler fans, my wife who has zero interest in any kind of sports sat and watched the whole thing and enjoyed this one so please don't think you need to know basketball or enjoy sports to enjoy this. Solid 8/10

It is much better than expected

Premise - 14/20 - Love sports, not huge on basketball, so I was worried I wouldn't love it. Cast/characters - 16/20 - Sandler's character was great, Hernangomez was very believable in the role, and most of the supporting characters did their jobs well. With so many NBA players in the cast, it was impressive that the egos were in check. Plot - 17/20 - I didn't think I would love it, but I did. Believing in yourself and helping someone else believe in themselves was a good story, but the requirement that putting in the work is required to achieve your dreams was fantastic. The climax and the ending were well done. Dialogue - 15/20 - The supportive conversation and the journey the two leads went on together was portrayed very well through dialogue. World-building - 16/20 - I felt like I had a good look at the inner workings of the NBA combine and training programs here, which was a world only glossed over by most other basketball movies. 78/100 - 4/5 stars - A nice surprise from Sandler. He can play a wide variety of roles. If you're stuck because he spent too long doing Billy Madison-type movies, you're really missing out on what he can do.

I am and always have been the least person interested in sports. Yet I love when sports movies are well made. They make some of the best feel good movies.

While Hustle's narrative is nothing groundbreaking for sports movies; its characters and relationships, cameos, montages, and moments of genuine tension all elevate it far beyond my initial expectations and into a very competent film.