Tricky here with book review number three of Tricky’s World entire lifetime and it’s also the third book here that has been turned into a motion picture. The other two books I found were better than their movie counterparts, so will this trend continue here? Unfortunately it will not as the Matchstick Men movie is much better than the book. But don’t get me wrong, this book is still a good read.
For those of you who don’t know, the Matchstick Men film is my second favourite movie of all-time (right behind Ocean’s Eleven) and for good reason. The film captures the characters perfectly and takes you through a very interesting plot right through to the huge twist at the end. The book goes through the same route but it doesn’t do it quite as well. You don’t really care for the characters as much in the book, they aren’t as well developed. For example, Roy in the film (portrayed by Nicolas Cage) is much more likeable than the Roy in the book. They are still good, believable characters, but it’s a shame the author didn’t flesh them out a bit more.
As I mentioned earlier there is a big twist at the end. The book and the movie present it in different ways, but for the most part it’s the same. There are two big differences that I would like to point out. First, the book needs the twist ending because without it the book would have just been an average tale of con men doing their business. The movie on the other hand would still have been amazing despite the twist because of how well developed the story and the characters were. The second difference is that the book ends abruptly after the twist leaving you wanting more. While the movie’s ending adds more and is great which really caps off an excellent movie.
The book does do something better than the film and that is the cons that are pulled off. The movie’s cons are still great and very interesting, but there are much more in the book and much more interesting ones too. The little cons they pull off are pure genius (such as the card trick and the ‘twenties’ con) and it really gets you feeling like your a con man. Even the lottery scam that is pulled off in the film is done much better here in the book.
This book had a lot to live up to in my opinion and it just couldn’t do it. Maybe I would have given this a higher rating if I had read it before seeing the movie, but for now this is how it stands. It’s still a good book that I recommend fans of the heist and con genre to check out. For everybody else, I would still recommend it if your looking for a short book that is full of some very interesting tricks, just don’t expect the most likeable characters.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
For those of you who don’t know, the Matchstick Men film is my second favourite movie of all-time (right behind Ocean’s Eleven) and for good reason. The film captures the characters perfectly and takes you through a very interesting plot right through to the huge twist at the end. The book goes through the same route but it doesn’t do it quite as well. You don’t really care for the characters as much in the book, they aren’t as well developed. For example, Roy in the film (portrayed by Nicolas Cage) is much more likeable than the Roy in the book. They are still good, believable characters, but it’s a shame the author didn’t flesh them out a bit more.
As I mentioned earlier there is a big twist at the end. The book and the movie present it in different ways, but for the most part it’s the same. There are two big differences that I would like to point out. First, the book needs the twist ending because without it the book would have just been an average tale of con men doing their business. The movie on the other hand would still have been amazing despite the twist because of how well developed the story and the characters were. The second difference is that the book ends abruptly after the twist leaving you wanting more. While the movie’s ending adds more and is great which really caps off an excellent movie.
The book does do something better than the film and that is the cons that are pulled off. The movie’s cons are still great and very interesting, but there are much more in the book and much more interesting ones too. The little cons they pull off are pure genius (such as the card trick and the ‘twenties’ con) and it really gets you feeling like your a con man. Even the lottery scam that is pulled off in the film is done much better here in the book.
This book had a lot to live up to in my opinion and it just couldn’t do it. Maybe I would have given this a higher rating if I had read it before seeing the movie, but for now this is how it stands. It’s still a good book that I recommend fans of the heist and con genre to check out. For everybody else, I would still recommend it if your looking for a short book that is full of some very interesting tricks, just don’t expect the most likeable characters.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
– Tricky Out
Tricky's World 