Jeremiah Zagar's film kept me entertained with its trusty clichés and its characters' sheer friendliness.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 24, 2022

NBA fans will like this movie but it’s not only for them. I know little about basketball but I still wanted this very tall Rocky and his old-school coach to make that three-pointer.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 1, 2022

Sandler doesn’t overdo the basketball scout character of Stanley Sugarmen. He lives it.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 21, 2022

I don’t necessarily need to see more [Adam] Sandler Netflix movies; I do need to see more movies by Jeremiah Zagar.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 17, 2022

Hustle spins a familiar plot into a story that'll keep you invested even if you don't know a hoop dream from an embroidery hoop.

| Jun 14, 2022

This is a good space for Sandler, a rich vein to keep mining.

| Jun 13, 2022

"Hustle" is worth seeing even if you don't like basketball. That says it all.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 11, 2022

Hustle savvily offers realistic team politics and crisp play on the court.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 11, 2022

It’s a surprisingly good sports movie that wants little more than to be a surprisingly good sports movie, one that knows it’s working with creaky triumph-of-the-underdog clichés but is willing to do a full-court press to sell them.

| Jun 10, 2022

It’s one of the most textured and affectionate films about basketball that’s come along in a long time.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 10, 2022

Hustle works, and it works beautifully, thanks to Sandler’s commitment.

| Jun 10, 2022

It’s always a slam dunk when Adam Sandler drops his doofus routine and really acts. And here, as a basketball scout who yearns to coach, he infuses every frame of this formulaic crowd-pleaser with a real-deal love of the game. Hot damn! We have a winner.

| Jun 10, 2022

Hustle is leagues beyond Sandler’s typical streaming output.

| Jun 10, 2022

The presence of so many familiar names and faces is part of the appeal of “Hustle.” It serves a further purpose, adding to a sense of verisimilitude. That’s important with any sports movie.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 9, 2022

Hustle follows a familiar game plan but executes it well, with a love of basketball culture shining through — alongside a likeable Sandler performance.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 9, 2022

“Hustle” manages to turn a clattery plot and a treacly sentimentality into a refracted self-portrait, a work of personal cinema.

| Jun 9, 2022

“Hustle,” a terrific crowd-pleaser about the N.B.A. draft, knows that basketball is a sport of long arms and longer odds.

| Original Score: A- | Jun 8, 2022

“Hustle” might follow a familiar crowd-rousing path, but it fills in all the details so well and creates flawed characters who are striving to do better within themselves as well for those around them.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 8, 2022

Hustle works its smooth moves scene after scene and ends with a satisfying whoosh, something like the sound of a ball sweeping through the net after circling the hoop for a suspenseful second or two.

| Jun 8, 2022

The movie gets by thanks to its combination of breezy charm and a solid inside game, including the authenticity of the abundant basketball sequences.

| Jun 8, 2022