Movie Reviews

Money Monster - 5/16/16

Is Money Monster A Good Investment?

Let's face it: Today's society is DOMINATED by cash. Whether it's the dollar bills in the bank or the ones and zeroes that make up the numbers on your screen when you check your account, every cent you have dictates a lot of the decisions you make in your life. And when you suddenly loose $60,000 due to an investment gone bad, based on the advice from a finance-savvy TV show host, sense is something you might have very little of. This is the groundwork behind the crime thriller drama 'Money Monster,' where a broke man takes a TV studio hostage, and demands at gunpoint restitution from those that have wronged him. But does this hostage situation truly leave the audience fearing a whole new type of monster, or, like the Bogeyman, should only be told to kids in order to scare them straight? Well...

The Plot: Money Monster is an investment show hosted by TV analyst and financial wiz Lee Gates, (George Clooney), and directed by the level-headed Patty Fenn, (Julia Roberts). 24 hours earlier, financial corporation IBIS Global Capital  experienced a glitch in its trading algorithm, cratering its stock, and losing $800 million. But before Gates can have an interview with the corporation's head, Walt Camby, the man leaves for a business trip to Geneva, and the studio itself is held hostage when a disgruntled investor, Kyle Budwell, played by (relative) newcomer Jack O'Connel. What follows is a tense thriller as everyone tries to prevent an already tense situation from getting completely out of hand, by finding the truth of what happened to $800 million dollars. There's also a sub-plot that ties Clooney and Roberts together that's handled well, but it doesn't have much impact on the main plot aside from necessary character development.

At the core, this movie is a thriller, and that is something it excels in. The majority of the film takes place on a small TV set, and you can feel how close and encompassing the tension is. The scenes that take place there are the highlights of the movie. However, in order to progress the plot, sometimes the film just cuts away to other locations and characters that you don't have as much investment in. For me, it wasn't as much a problem, but I could easily see how some people might find it a little jarring to go from gunpoint-hostage one minute to secretary-on-the-runway the next.

That isn't to say this is just a thriller, though. Sprinkled throughout the film are elements of a mystery that you want to solve by its end, and some genuinely funny moments. Some from the supporting cast, and others from the main characters. These moments of brevity are welcome throughout the film, as sometimes it can be a little preachy about how the populace reacts to bad events, or just simply bashing Wall Street.

The Characters:

All around, there is no bad or horrible acting in this film. The three core performances are from Clooney, Roberts and O'Connel. The first two are no surprise; they are veteran, award-winning actors. The standout-performer, in my opinion, in this film has to be O'Connel's character Kyle Budwell. This is a guy that you can see is just trapped in a downward spiral, and he's desperately trying to claw his way out. While he is considered an antagonist at the film's beginning, you slowly learn to sympathize with him and even root for him a little bit, which I consider a great victory for any film if I find myself liking the 'bad guy.' You can't approve of what he's doing, but you can understand why you might do something similar if you were in his shoes.

The supporting cast is great to, as there are some veterans and unknowns sprinkled throughout, but nothing worth commenting on.

Final Verdict: 

While the film does lose steam at times, a solid story and strong acting from its cast do not disappoint viewers. I was solidly wrapped in its story throughout, and failed to notice any loss of traction, but I would not be surprised if others did.

Score: 8/10.

On a final note, I'd like to add some personal knowledge: While today's society is dominated by cash, it's not the monster everyone thinks it is. Sure, it might be more like a jungle cat chained up in the corner that you have to feed every once in a while or it'll gobble you up, but it's still not as big a threat as people make it out to be. More and more money is printed every day. There's always gonna be a way to earn money. Don''t stress about it. (Lord knows I try not to.)