Even though The Sting sounds like an ill-advised fourth sequel to The Scorpion King...it's actually a perfect name for this movie.

We're actually introduced to two "stings" in this film. The first sting refers to the final act of a scheme that a bunch of conmen want to pull off on Lonnegan. Then, midway through the movie, the FBI shows up and says they plan on using the same con as a police "sting" to take down Henry Gondorff.

The great thing about this title is that we're not sure which "sting" the title is referring to— Henry's or the FBI's. And this is exactly why we get tricked into thinking that Johnny and Henry are killed in the end, because we feel like the name "The Sting" has become a sadly ironic way of saying that the police were going to win all along.

But then, in one of cinema's greatest switcheroos, we learn that the police "sting" was actually just another one of Henry Gondorff's schemes. The audience, like Doyle Lonnegan, can consider itself stung.