The Big Short

The Big Short, which he directed and wrote with Charles Randolph from the book by Michael Lewis, jumps off the screen in every scene and pins an elusive subject firmly in place.

I suppose you could call The Big Short a comedy. It’s very, very funny. But it’s also a tragedy. Behind every easy drive-by laugh is a sincere holler of outrage.

McKay approaches this adaptation of Michael Lewis’ book with wit, energy and a surprising degree of clarity. But if the movie is a crackerjack entertainment, it’s one with a conscience.

It really is quite a movie: entertaining and engaging, but also mortifying; a good alternate title might be "American Horror Story."

But there is so much information to process in The Big Short that only hedge fund managers and stock brokers will be able to track every nuance and shading of this complicated story.

Few of the characters feel fully fleshed out. McKay's Big Short also lacks a certain nuance in its third act, when McKay's agenda becomes abundantly, ham-handedly clear. Still, it's hard not to be outraged by what is learned.

McKay's bumptious movie awkwardly combines fourth-wall-breaking gimmickry and flaccid indignation with the goofball energy that defines his comedies.

The best financial movie ever! It just shows how the current system is a joke and the government even bigger.

An easy watch, relatively funny, and semi-informative. My issue with this one is just the style. Cutting to major celebrities to grab your attention, but also just to say that they did. The Gosling 4th wall breaks also just didn't sit right with me. Still worth your time, but nowhere near classic territory.

Solid, but modern. All the usual suspects are present. A hip editing - check, 4th wall-braking winks - check, non-existent story/characters - check. The theme is both interesting and important, but all you're gonna get is only a slick, MTV treatment of it.

Incredibly boring, and longer than it needed to be. Movie tries to rely on big talk and star power but falls flat, disappointment...

I have to agree with "half58". What's with the endless quick cuts ? How is that suppose to help telling the story ? Flash, flash, flash most of the time. The actors do what they can but it's a lost cause. Take the other investigative movie, Spotlight. What a different style. It goes to show how unnecessary and pointless this razzle dazzle, shaky camera shoot style is. You see it on TV most of the time and is one of the reasons I don't watch TV that much these days. Good story, terrible storytelling.