Money Monster

Hollywood's latest drama to take a dim, post-crash view of the financial sector is named after a fictional cable-TV stock-and-shares show hosted by a bullish, rapping George Clooney (seemingly modelled on Jim Cramer of CNBC's shouty Mad Money). The airwaves are taken hostage by Jack O'Connell's gun-wielding ordinary Joe who has lost his life savings after a "sure thing" tip, leaving cool-headed producer Julia Roberts to balance a very real threat with the lure of a spike in ratings. Promising a blend of Network, Dog Day Afternoon and The Wolf of Wall Street (our wolf being Dominic West's slimy CEO whose company left O'Connell with nothing), instead this uneven slab of social entertainment wobbles tonally between satire and thriller, hoping that Clooney can effect a redemptive "journey" in real time. If it held its nerve, Money Monster could have been a focused rerun of Phone Booth. Instead, despite a surfeit of talent, including director Jodie Foster, it collapses under its own weight. O'Connell comes out the best, despite being hamstrung by expletive-driven dialogue, but the whole, slick conceit fails to sell itself.