"GET SOME BALLS"
Wall Street. Money. If films like The Wolf of Wall Street and most recently, Adam McKay's The Big Short, one of my most recent additions to the ever-growing collection of brilliant movies I now own, are indicators of how disgustingly green and shallow such a location in the world is then Jodie Foster's, yes, that Jodie Foster, Money Monster is somewhat a kettle of similar fish, albeit a much lesser pedigree when placed against its' predecessors. If The Big Short is a fresh caught grilled salmon, then Money Monster is a week old cod, one left in the freezer for a good week and then battered and covered with seasoning and sauces in order to pass it up as something of quality. Okay, a bit harsh, but there is no denying that Money Monster is a slump of a let-down, a film which attempts to drift between high-tension drama and elements of comedy whilst being tent-poled by a supposed smart plot yet comes off as something of a wimp, with the clichéd and borderline generic story playing its' hand way too early in order to establish the thrills it attempts to create.
Amidst another day in the high-profile life of financial guru and host of hot TV show "Money Monster", Lee Gates, played in a somewhat laughable high-key manner by everyone's favourite Batman (NOT) George Clooney, swiftly gets taken hostage on air by Jack O'Connell's Kyle Budwell, a young working man left in arrears due to the collapse of IBIS Clear Capital's stock, owned by the ridiculously and rather too obvious sneaky CEO Walt Camby (The Wire's Dominic West). Add into the mix Julia Roberts' director-come-leaver Patty, and Money Monster is the formulaic, on-the-nose snooze-fest the trailers unfortunately stated that it possibly would become. Thrills? Not one, with any chance of a build-up of tension being undercut by silly moments of comedy, some of which may have generated one or two laughs, but ultimately felt completely wrong and almost alien in a film of this kind. Although Jodie Foster gives it a good stab at her own variation of the much superior Inside Man, a film in which she starred in and seems to admire, Money Monster is suitably lacklustre and rather quite disappointing. On the subject of money, Clooney and Roberts must be laughing at their cheque with that being the only reason why they decided to star in such a film. Hollywood nepotism? Perhaps. But hey, Jack O'Connell is great.
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