Money Monster has everything going for it. A great cast, a relevant, interesting plot and a debut director. But does the film have what it takes to be a money-spinner? We find out.
George Clooney plays Lee Gates, an arrogant, confident and highly successful TV presenter, while Julia Roberts plays Patty Fenn, the director of the show -- Money Monster -- that Lee hosts.
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Money Monster is a popular show where Lee discusses stocks and shares and advises people on the shares they should invest in.
The crew’s chaotic day becomes much more interesting – and terrifying -- when the team is taken hostage by Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell), a man who lost everything after he invested in the shares of a company recommended by Lee.
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Director Jodie Foster plunges the audience immediately into the chaotic world of a TV talk show. She then takes a stiff right and sets up the premise for a conspiracy theory that’s wrapped as a political drama.
Money Monster starts on a very promising note, the script soars until the middle – and that is where the film suddenly plunges.
There are several scenes in the movie that show how every incident has a shelf life and how people move on with their lives after those ‘minutes of fame’ evaporate. Unfortunately, Money Monster suffers from the same malady. After a great beginning and a decent middle, the film behaves like it has outlived it’s ‘aahaa’ factor and trudges along to a convenient end.
Image Source: ooyuz
Image Source: ashams
Money Monster is a popular show where Lee discusses stocks and shares and advises people on the shares they should invest in.
The crew’s chaotic day becomes much more interesting – and terrifying -- when the team is taken hostage by Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell), a man who lost everything after he invested in the shares of a company recommended by Lee.
Image Source: notey
Director Jodie Foster plunges the audience immediately into the chaotic world of a TV talk show. She then takes a stiff right and sets up the premise for a conspiracy theory that’s wrapped as a political drama.
Money Monster starts on a very promising note, the script soars until the middle – and that is where the film suddenly plunges.
There are several scenes in the movie that show how every incident has a shelf life and how people move on with their lives after those ‘minutes of fame’ evaporate. Unfortunately, Money Monster suffers from the same malady. After a great beginning and a decent middle, the film behaves like it has outlived it’s ‘aahaa’ factor and trudges along to a convenient end.
Image Source: ooyuz
Hostage films are by-the-book nowadays. Someone’s taken hostage by someone, there’s the powerless guy who wants to help the good guys win, there’s the man in power who doesn’t, there’s the top dog whose only job is to make this all look good. You get the point. There are few aspects in a hostage film that the audience can’t see coming a mile away.
Screenplay writers Alan Di Fiore, Jim Kouf and Jamie Linden succeed in making the premise interesting with the TV twist, but fail to keep the tempo up.
The three lead actors, however, shine through the flawed product. Clooney flits from being an arrogant host to a nervous wreck to a man with a conscience effectively. And all with the ease of a veteran. It’s Clooney’s performance that keeps the film together, sprinkled with the soft nudges of an understated Julia.
Clooney and Julia superbly portray common men and women who try to get on with their lives, but are thrust into the limelight.
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What fails Money Monster and Julia is the plot point that’s conveniently placed to bring the film to an end. Somewhere along the way, Julia’s character decides to go out and get some facts. But instead of taking the film to a whole new level, all she does is drive to a corner where the climax is set up.
Money Monster is a film of lost opportunities, but has moments that entertain and amuse the audience. Clooney and Julia fans should definitely watch the film to see how their favourite actors portray relatable characters. With their outings getting rarer by the day, fans will definitely devour this one.
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