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“Money Monster” Reviews: Critics divided on Jodie Foster thriller

Posted in: Must-Read Reviews  |  By: John Hanlon  |  May 13th, 2016
Money Monster Reviews

Jodie Foster’s new thriller Money Monster takes on both televised financial advisers (who see their jobs as entertainers, pilule rather than professional businessmen) and Wall Street corruption. Packed with an all-star cast featuring George Clooney, look Julia Roberts and Jack O’Connell (whose star keeps on rising), see the drama tells the story of a disgruntled young man looking for answers when he loses his money on a bad investment. The Money Monster reviews have been mixed but many people are finding at least something to admire here.

At this writing, the feature has a 62% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

Check out a few of the must-read Money Monster reviews below (and make sure you check out our own review here).

A.O. Scott, New York Times: ““Money Monster” begins with a jolt of satire, proceeds through a maze of beat-the-clock exposition and lands on a surprisingly gentle, sentimental note.” Check out the full review here.

Andrew Barker, Variety.com: “Unlike last year’s “The Big Short,” “Money Monster’s” skewering of the financial industry is too superficial to draw any real blood, but it arrives at an unusually relevant historical juncture.” Check out the full review here.

Todd McCarthy, HollywoodReporter.com: “Big money Wall Street gets bashed by big money Hollywood in Money Monster, a timely, moderately engaging real-time thriller about a live-TV hostage drama that unfortunately lacks any suspense whatsoever.”Check out the full review here.

Pete Hammond, Deadline.com: “Clooney is sensational, again lending his star power to promoting entertainment with a film that has something to say, playing this TV creation who is more interested in getting ratings than worrying about the results of the financial advice he hands out while basically acting like a buffoon.” Check out the full review here.

Nell Minow, Beliefnet.com: “It aims for ‘The Big Short’ plus ‘Dog Day Afternoon,’ but comes up just ahead of Man on the Ledge.'” Check out the full review here.

Eric Kohn, Indiewire.com: “Basically, it aspires to be “Network” for the Occupy Wall street age.” Check out the full review here.

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: “The movie was shot by the excellent Matthew Libatique, but its unexceptional, sometimes hurried look suggests time constraints on a limited budget.” Check out the full review here.

Stephanie Zacharek, Time.com: ” If you could pour the nation’s collective financial anxiety into one vessel, it would take the shape of Money Monster.” Check out the full review here.

Robert Abele, TheWrap.com: “What transpires, though, is a bewilderingly facile and preposterously plotted misfire that offers few pleasures as either a star-driven thriller or a big-screen indictment of the forces that devastated global bank accounts, an issue actively driving this year’s election.” Check out the full review here.

Lindsey Bahr, ABCNews.com: “It’s partially interested in the idea of systemic corruption in the finance world, sure, but it seems to be even more critical of the cable news media types who have grown soft, complacent and careless.” Check out the full review here.

If you want to read our perspective on the film, click here for our review.

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