Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes over their studio.
Money Monster is a competent but unremarkable thriller that leans heavily on a familiar hostage-in-a-TV-studio premise. The plot has decent tension but follows a predictable arc with a by-the-numbers corporate villain reveal. Clooney and Roberts deliver solid, professional performances that elevate the material somewhat, but neither is stretched. The cinematography is functional and TV-slick without any distinctive visual identity. The premise of financial critique via hostage drama was fresher in films like Dog Day Afternoon, and this feels derivative of that tradition without adding much new. The ending resolves too neatly and somewhat limply given the buildup, undercutting what emotional weight had been earned.