I've seen a couple of pretty informative films lately when it comes to the financial industry (Inside Job and The Big Short). Both movies found a way to boil things down so you could understand even if you weren't well versed in Wall Street terminology. I went in to Money Monster knowing it was mean to be entertaining. With the cast it has (George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell and Giancarlo Esposito), a strong trailer and the social justice concept, I was interested to see where it would go. I think managing expectations is key Money Monster, if you go in expecting an insightful look into finance or an Oscar calibre drama, you'll be disappointed. It's a thriller and if you accept it, I think you'll have a good time.
*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Lee Gates (George Clooney) hosts the show Money Monster. Lee is arrogant and mouthy, he has a lot of bravado and isn't afraid to step on other people's toes. The recent financial story is the downfall of IBIS who lost $800 million dollars overnight. CEO Walt Camby (Dominic West) explained it was due to a technical glitch. Gates is a staunch Camby supporter and claims the stock will bounce back. Before the show the next day, Gates is preparing for the show. Most of his interactions are with his director Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) who seems like more of a friend than his boss. She puts up with his juvenile behaviour and they get ready to do the show. Gates begins with some posturing but gradually gets into rhythm and is leading up to his interview with Diane Lester (Caitriona Balfe) who is the chief communication officer for IBIS. After a while, Patty sees a delivery boy slowly moving closer and closer to Gates (he will eventually be named as Kyle Budwell played by Jack O'Connell). He pulls out a pistol and fires it in the air. He instructs him to put on a bomb vest and to answer his questions about the IBIS crash.
I would again like to point out that Money Monster isn't meant to sit you down and teach a lesson. It's a fictional drama and for a hostage thriller, it does it's job well. The movie offers some twists and turns that I didn't see coming, even playing on a couple of stereotypes that commonly take place in these type of movies (calling in the next of kin for the hostage taker/terrorist was really different). But on the other hand, while Money Monster accomplishes what it sets out to, it's disappointing because it has the opportunity to dive into some darker aspects of Wall Street and it completely moves away from it. Two of the shadier practices in Wall Street are mentioned but play significant roles (dark pools and high frequency trading) but instead of looking into how these areas are barely monitored, they create a greedy and evil CEO to point the finger at. It isn't wrong that they did that but it felt like they chose the easy path to entertain instead of diving into real problems in high finance.
The cast of Money Monster is large but the movie largely focuses on 3 people. Luckily, they got the right people to play those parts. I was most impressed with Julia Roberts. Her character is the the most sympathetic, she's saddled with the man-child who she has to look after yet produce a quality show. Julia helps humanize not only her character but the other two leads, she's playing a more down-to-earth character and she's does it really well. I've only seen Jack O'Connell in Unbroken but I can see why he's on the rise. He did a really good job playing Kyle in a way where he's not the good guy but you understand where he's coming from and he's not necessarily the villain you think he would be watching the trailer. George Clooney is the star of the show and I thought he got better as the movie went on. In the start of the movie, he's rapping and dancing all over the place and it didn't seem to gel. But as things get more serious, the more the movie moves into his wheelhouse and he becomes more believable. I liked Giancarlo Stanton as the police commissioner and even though I didn't like the direction they took his character, Dominic West was good as Walt Camby.
I would just take this movie at face value. Kyle's plan doesn't really hold up and Money Monster is not wearing it's message on it's sleeve. Also Money Monster is being dismissed by some as liberal propaganda and I don't think that's accurate. One of the other things I liked about Money Monster is that it's unclear who the villain is until the end. Kyle is the gunman and he deserves to be punished for his actions but he's questioning the system that seems to ignore the rules and suppresses anything that they don't want us to see. Lee is an ignorant prick but does he deserve to die for that? Of course not. This is a world of mixed morals and minus Patty all the characters do not line up as black or white but as a shade of grey. It's refreshing to see that and it's a little closer to what we really see in the world.
I liked this movie when I left the theatre. The more and more I thought about it, I started to pick out things. It's far from a bad movie, it has a good cast, complicated characters and enough twists and turns to hold your interest. But it's not great either, it bypasses some really interesting aspects for an easier resolution and it didn't live up to it's trailer. It's one of those movies where you have to split the difference and although I might have been disappointed, it deserves credit for accomplishing what it set out to do.
*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Lee Gates (George Clooney) hosts the show Money Monster. Lee is arrogant and mouthy, he has a lot of bravado and isn't afraid to step on other people's toes. The recent financial story is the downfall of IBIS who lost $800 million dollars overnight. CEO Walt Camby (Dominic West) explained it was due to a technical glitch. Gates is a staunch Camby supporter and claims the stock will bounce back. Before the show the next day, Gates is preparing for the show. Most of his interactions are with his director Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) who seems like more of a friend than his boss. She puts up with his juvenile behaviour and they get ready to do the show. Gates begins with some posturing but gradually gets into rhythm and is leading up to his interview with Diane Lester (Caitriona Balfe) who is the chief communication officer for IBIS. After a while, Patty sees a delivery boy slowly moving closer and closer to Gates (he will eventually be named as Kyle Budwell played by Jack O'Connell). He pulls out a pistol and fires it in the air. He instructs him to put on a bomb vest and to answer his questions about the IBIS crash.
I would again like to point out that Money Monster isn't meant to sit you down and teach a lesson. It's a fictional drama and for a hostage thriller, it does it's job well. The movie offers some twists and turns that I didn't see coming, even playing on a couple of stereotypes that commonly take place in these type of movies (calling in the next of kin for the hostage taker/terrorist was really different). But on the other hand, while Money Monster accomplishes what it sets out to, it's disappointing because it has the opportunity to dive into some darker aspects of Wall Street and it completely moves away from it. Two of the shadier practices in Wall Street are mentioned but play significant roles (dark pools and high frequency trading) but instead of looking into how these areas are barely monitored, they create a greedy and evil CEO to point the finger at. It isn't wrong that they did that but it felt like they chose the easy path to entertain instead of diving into real problems in high finance.
The cast of Money Monster is large but the movie largely focuses on 3 people. Luckily, they got the right people to play those parts. I was most impressed with Julia Roberts. Her character is the the most sympathetic, she's saddled with the man-child who she has to look after yet produce a quality show. Julia helps humanize not only her character but the other two leads, she's playing a more down-to-earth character and she's does it really well. I've only seen Jack O'Connell in Unbroken but I can see why he's on the rise. He did a really good job playing Kyle in a way where he's not the good guy but you understand where he's coming from and he's not necessarily the villain you think he would be watching the trailer. George Clooney is the star of the show and I thought he got better as the movie went on. In the start of the movie, he's rapping and dancing all over the place and it didn't seem to gel. But as things get more serious, the more the movie moves into his wheelhouse and he becomes more believable. I liked Giancarlo Stanton as the police commissioner and even though I didn't like the direction they took his character, Dominic West was good as Walt Camby.
I would just take this movie at face value. Kyle's plan doesn't really hold up and Money Monster is not wearing it's message on it's sleeve. Also Money Monster is being dismissed by some as liberal propaganda and I don't think that's accurate. One of the other things I liked about Money Monster is that it's unclear who the villain is until the end. Kyle is the gunman and he deserves to be punished for his actions but he's questioning the system that seems to ignore the rules and suppresses anything that they don't want us to see. Lee is an ignorant prick but does he deserve to die for that? Of course not. This is a world of mixed morals and minus Patty all the characters do not line up as black or white but as a shade of grey. It's refreshing to see that and it's a little closer to what we really see in the world.
I liked this movie when I left the theatre. The more and more I thought about it, I started to pick out things. It's far from a bad movie, it has a good cast, complicated characters and enough twists and turns to hold your interest. But it's not great either, it bypasses some really interesting aspects for an easier resolution and it didn't live up to it's trailer. It's one of those movies where you have to split the difference and although I might have been disappointed, it deserves credit for accomplishing what it set out to do.