Money Monster (2016)
I love thrillers. More action the better, but still: a thriller is awesome if it's clever and well acted. This one isn't. When I saw that Clooney and Roberts were in it, I was excited; they're big names, so the film was bound to be brilliant as well. It isn't.
What is Money Monster about?
Financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes them and their crew as hostage. (from IMDB)
My review of Money Monster
The cinematography is edgy, Clooney's screen charisma as dazzling as ever, and he and Roberts have natural chemistry. Unfortunately, that's all the film has going for it.
It's a weak story poorly executed. It feels contrived and fake, and as if everyone is taking themselves just too seriously. They writers are trying to do something clever, but it doesn't work; it feels cheap, laughable, and as if they're making a big deal out of a silly situation. The whole hostage situation just comes across stupid. I honestly wanted to laugh-out-loud a few times at the ridiculousness of it. Not to mention that as soon as there's real, intense emotion involved, Clooney comes across as if he's laughing at it.
He honestly does not act as if he has a bomb strapped to his chest; his facial expressions - supposedly stressed and terrified - are laughable and halfhearted. For a guy with his life on the line, he doesn't look that worried. Even Julia Roberts, who really can act, looks as if she’s taking herself too seriously, given the ridiculous execution of the story. The characters are also one-dimensional caricatures.
The film also starts without giving enough context and backstory with regards to the financial duties of the TV program and what Gates and his cronies actually stand for, etc. Even when the film explores that way too late in the film, it’s confusing, loose, and very vague.
In addition, the film becomes tedious when ending is splayed out in a loose mess that never seems to end. It loses momentum. And turns from "thriller" to "filler".
The story doesn't work, the acting isn't great, and the film goes way overtime with its climax. I don't recommend it.
