Money Monster is a thriller about the TV show that runs on the same screen the audience watches it from. George Clooney plays Lee Gates, the man who talks about money, and Julia Roberts plays Patty Fenn, the woman who keeps the show running. When a man named Kyle Budwell takes over the studio and puts a vest with explosives on Clooney, the movie turns into a hostage situation that asks a simple question: who is behind the crash of the stock he bought?
The premise is clever. A deliveryman walks into the set, pulls a gun, and turns the show into a real story. Clooney and Roberts have to play both the hosts and the people caught in the crisis. The film moves fast, and the pressure never lets up.
Trailer, via Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The Game of Real and Screen
What makes Money Monster work is the way it mixes the show with the crisis. When Clooney asks his viewers to help him find the money Budwell lost, the film is forcing the audience to think about their own role in the system. It is a bold move, and it keeps the tension high.
The problem is that the film never quite commits to its own ideas. It presents a conspiracy that is simple enough to be explained by one person, and then it refuses to let that person be the villain. The film sets up a system it then decides to protect. That tension between what it wants to say and what it wants to show keeps the movie from landing.
The cast is strong. Clooney carries the film with a calm that feels earned. Roberts gives Patty a sharp, practical edge that keeps her grounded through the chaos. Jack O’Connell plays Kyle with a real sense of rage and fear, and the film uses him to make its audience care about the people caught in the crash.
The Cast and Their Roles
The film also gives the supporting characters room to matter. Dominic West plays Walt Camby, the CEO of IBIS Clear Capital, with a cool confidence that hides how much he is losing. Caitríona Balfe plays Diane Lester, the head of PR, who is forced to confront the truth of what happened to the stock. Giancarlo Esposito plays Captain Powell, and the NYPD adds a layer of authority to the crisis.
The film is at its best when it lets these characters speak. The worst scenes are the ones that rush the story just to get to the next twist.
The Numbers Behind the Screen
Money Monster premiered at Cannes on May 12, 2016, and reached theaters the next day. It earned over $93 million against a budget of $27.4 million, which is a solid success for a film of this size. The film’s tagline, “Not every conspiracy is a theory,” suggests it wanted to be a serious comment on the financial system. It does not quite reach that goal.
The film’s structure is tighter than its ideas. It moves from the set to the city streets to the closing of the crisis without losing pace. The final act, which pushes the story toward a resolution, is the weakest part of the film. It feels rushed, and it asks the audience to accept a twist that does not fit the logic the film has spent an hour building.
What Works and What Does Not
The film’s strengths are its cast and its concept. The problem is the script, which is too thin to hold the weight of its own ideas. Money Monster is a solid thriller with a great cast, but it never fully commits to the argument it is trying to make. It is a film that is good to watch, but it is not a film that leaves you with anything to think about after it ends.
The film’s greatest weakness is that it never fully answers the question it raises. Who is behind the crash? The film presents a system it then decides to protect, and that refusal to commit keeps the whole story from landing.
Money Monster earns a score of 5.5 out of 10. It is a solid thriller with a great cast, but its ideas are too thin to justify the tension it builds.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 12, 2016 | Premiere at Cannes |
| May 13, 2016 | Release in theaters |
- The opening hostage situation works because Clooney and Roberts play both the hosts and the people caught in the crisis.
- The viewership of the show is a clever way to make the audience complicit in the system.
- West and Balfe give the film its best supporting performances.
- The final act rushes the story to a twist that does not fit the logic it has spent an hour building.
This is a film that is good to watch, but it is not a film that leaves you with anything to think about after it ends.
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