Money Monster Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Money Monster Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 1, 2016

Where there's smoke, there's always fire. But that smoke may not always be the result of a raging inferno. Maybe it comes from the dying breaths of a small flame, but in any case fire always begets smoke. It's cause and effect and the foundational, logical rationalization behind Conspiracy Theory 101. There's always something working behind the scenes that produces visible and related, but not always obvious, results. Thats the's famous puppeteer pulling the strings from afar, the "invisible hand" as a bastardization of Adam Smith's hypothesis about the positive outcomes of individual actions on society, here meant that the individual actions of those at or near the top can harm the greater good instead of help. Things don't just happen out of thin air. For instance, conspiracy theorists have long railed against the system ("the man") and the breadth and depth of how it's rigged to favor the big guy at the expense of the little guy. It's called "collusion." Contrary to popular belief and reports of its near-demise, "the system" is a well-oiled machine that presents the illusion of opportunity but is instead working against those who really need it the most. Dig a little. Numbers are fudged all over the place. Loopholes abound. Underhanded dealings run the show. Everyone is played, to an extent. And that's all at the center of Money Monster, Director Jodie Foster's (The Beaver) modern-day Thriller about the intended and unintended consequences of the manipulation of the digital economy and the waterfall -- not trickle-down -- effect it has on society, right down to the individual doing all he can to stay afloat in a world that's quickly submerging ever deeper into the inescapable abyss.

Live.

Lee Gates (George Clooney) is a television financial guru and showman. He calls 'em like he sees 'em, and he's high on a stock called IBIS. It's recently lost $800 million in value to what the company is calling a "glitch" in its auto-trader algorithm, but regardless of the how's or the why's it's a big chunk of change and cost a lot of people a lot of money. He's still bullish on the stock, but he's about to get a lesson from the ground floor when a disgruntled investor named Kyle (Jack O'Connell) crashes a live broadcast with a gun. He forces Gates to don a suicide vest, and Kyle keeps his thumb ever-present on the dead man switch in his hand. As the behind-the-scenes crew, including director Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts), works the angles, gets the police involved, and keeps the cameras rolling, Kyle spells out his grievances against the system and demands answers as to why Gates' advice cost him everything he had in the market.

Money Monster strives to find equal balance between mental stimulation and entertainment. For those willing to walk away and think about more than the baseline details, the movie is capable of, but not always proficient at, engendering critical thought on higher point concepts that play central to the film but usually play behind the immediate drama of "guy with gun" and "bomb strapped to TV personality." While the film successfully meshes higher value content with cruder drama, it never quite finds an even keel middle ground. It plows through the story linearly, and with only a modicum of finesse, as it makes its point rather bluntly, predictably, and with the usual machinations and manipulations and generic character details and presentations that usually define movies about "the little guy violently rebelling against the system." Foster's film does manage an interesting insight into the intersection of how those pulled strings manipulate in different ways and across societal boundaries, beginning at the top and flowing on down through the middle man reporting only what he sees, hears, and his instinct tells him, and the little guy who puts his faith in a system that was never going to work for him in the first place. The general drama of it all works well enough. The movie squeaks out enough tension to keep interest up through the cruder, and necessary, plot points, but the movie's real value comes from how it cracks open the door for the audience to dig a little deeper into the truths behind what's really out there.

That's why the movie should have ended on the foosball shot rather than offer up its cut-and-paste conclusion (those who have seen the movie will understand the foosball shot). The foosball shot gets straight to the heart of everything the movie, and the world around it, for that matter, are about, and is exactly why the chain will probably never be broken. Remember the scene from The Naked Gun in which Frank Drebin proclaims "there's nothing to see here?" The foosball shot reinforces the notion that culture, and attention spans, have fallen so far that there's not even any need to proclaim "there's nothing to see here." The action unfolds on the news, and it's forgotten ten seconds later. No follow-up, no digging, no thinking. Back into The Matrix. Sigh. Money Monster had so much potential to really say something, and it does, to an extent. It just doesn't really hammer it home in any meaningful way. Foster's film doesn't fully elicit that urge to discover, to learn, to question. What channel are the Kardashians on again? Foosball.

Money Monster Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Money Monster features a fine, but not particularly standout-ish, 1080p transfer. The digitally photographed movie shows its wares nicely enough on the Blu-ray format, with a good, clean picture that yields sturdy details and honest colors. Textures never quite demonstrate the sort of fine, in depth, intimately revealing nuance of the best presentations, but general skin and clothes, not to mention smooth accents around the studio set and some rougher elements out on the street, all present with enough raw detail to please. Colors are likewise fine, neither exceptionally brilliant nor washed out or dull. The Blu-ray favors an honest, neutral scheme that presents with solid contrast and no wonky pushes in any direction. Black levels hold deep and flesh tones appear true. There's very little source noise and no obvious source or compression artifacts. The image is fine, nothing that's going to reinvent how people look at the format but rather an honest, everyday new release presentation.

Money Monster Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much like the video, Money Monster's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack presents well, but in a rather unassuming way. Nothing about the track stands out as spectacular, and nothing stands out as falling short of baseline expectations. There's a good, though not thoroughly powerful or fluid, sense of full-stage sweeping movement to begin the movie as the camera flies through a combination of the digital and physical worlds. Music finds good clarity, enjoyable spread across the front, and a trickle into the back. Quality atmospherics littler various locations, whether chatter and clatter inside the studio or crowd cheers, chants, sirens, and moving traffic out on city streets. A few gunshots ring out with adequate power but are far from ear-splitting realism. Dialogue plays smartly in the center, demonstrating excellent prioritization and clarity. The track leaves no reason to walk away disappointed, and no reason to walk away in awe. It's just solid all around and goes about its business without any drama.

Money Monster Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Money Monster contains deleted scenes, a music video, and several featurettes. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Global Opening (1:24), Let Me Speak to the Quant (0:42), and Molly's Exit Rant (0:28).
• George Clooney: The Money Man (1080p, 5:27): A discussion of the character and the show he hosts, the story's themes, developing the role, the character's arc, casting, Clooney's contributions to the role, and more.
• Inside the Pressure Cooker (1080p, 9:55): A closer look at the the movie's dramatic moments and core thriller details, technical construction, Roberts and Clooney working together, and Jodie Foster's direction.
• Analysis of a Scene: The Showdown (1080p, 7:09): Cast and crew dissect the movie's story and ending.
• Music Video (1080i, 3:05): "What Makes the World Go 'Round (Money!)" by Dan the Automator (Feat. Del the Funky Homosapien).
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Money Monster Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Money Monster is well made, nicely acted, and meaningful, but it doesn't really drive its point home. It says what it needs to say, not everything it can say. It's entertaining and thought-provoking to an extent, but it's not going to change the world. It probably won't even open all that many eyes, even as it has the potential to do so. A Thriller in the same vein as John Q., Money Monster has a lot to say, and a lot of the right parts in place to go with it, but doesn't quite make the grade. Sony's Blu-ray delivers a smattering of extra content to go alongside solid enough video and audio. Rent it.