Review of Money Monster (2016) by Andrew M — 06 Aug 2016

This isn't bad by any stretch, but it's also not at all what I was expecting. I thought based on marketing that this was going to look into full on manipulation of the stock market kind of like "The Big Short", but no; it's one specific stock with one specific and rather contrived manipulator. As such, it kind of loses a bit of it's punch. It's also extremely emotionally manipulative, especially when the girlfriend is brought into it. I also figured out one twist rather early on, and a subsequent piece of dialog confirmed it for me well before being explicitly stated, which means it wasn't terribly suspenseful for me.

Still, the actors are all extremely good in their roles and manage to carry the material. As ridiculous as the Mad Money knock-off on the show appears to me, I guess such shows have an audience. Some of the jokes, and I'll readily admit there are some funny parts here, do seem out of place.

I'd say if you like the actors, in particular Roberts and Clooney, you'll like the movie. As stated, they all do give enjoyable performances, and those two in particular have good chemistry even if often they're not actually on screen together. However, if you miss this don't feel bad either. It passes the time, and is entertaining for what it is, but doesn't really have much substance behind it.