Hollywood has a love affair with hostage movies with several coming out every year. There can be many gems among them (Argo and Captain Philips serving as recent examples), but also many rehashing the same formula over and over again. Based on the trailer that Sony Pictures released for their new movie, Money Monster, this looks like it is going to be one of the better ones though.
George Clooney plays financial TV personality Lee Gates, who offers up stock advice on his hit show “Money Monster,” when he is held hostage by a viewer, Kyle Budwell (played by Jack O’ Connell), who lost all of his money following a bad tip from Lee during his show. What makes this movie seem interesting is how the hostage taker forces it to be played out live on air while a bigger political syndicate is seemingly exposed.
The trailer certainly shows that there is a lot more to explore in this tense looking political thriller and if the movie is anything as exciting as the trailer it could be a thrill ride when it hits the cinemas later this year. It’s not the most original plot, but is certainly culturally relevant with the recent economic crisis still affecting people to this day and seems to be well executed by a capable cast.
The movie is directed by that great actress Jodie Foster, who takes the director’s chair for the fourth time in her career, and this certainly seems like it could potentially be her best directing performance yet. Her previous directorial efforts (Little Man Tate, Home for the Holidays, The Beaver) while not being bad, lacked some excitement and flair for me. They were all dramas though, so a suspense thriller like Money Monster is new territory for Foster, but one that I think she has the potential to pull off.
The movie also starts Julia Roberts who is the producer of the TV show as well as a strong support cast led by Dominic West and Caitriona Balfe. The script has been written by Jamie Linden (We Are Marshall), Alan Di Fiore (TV shows The Handler and Vendetta) and Jim Kouf (Rush Hour, National Treasure) and is produced by Smoke House Pictures. Money Monster is due for release on May 13 this year in the U.S. by Sony Pictures.
Last Updated: January 13, 2016
