Ed's Review Dot Com

Movie Review – The Big Short (2016) {R}

Posted on 2016 under 3 Star Rating, Based on a true story, Comedy, Drama

Plan B Entertainment, Regency Enterprises,

Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, Tracy Letts, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Byron Mann, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, Finn Wittrock

Several separate and distinct stories are being told simultaneously based upon the real events and real characters who had the audacity to bet against the mortgage industry when they were the only ones smart enough to foresee the housing crash of 2007. Nobody bets against the mortgage industry because it was as solid as America itself, and everyone pays their mortgage, right? This story tries to break it down and show us what happened, and how a few made a bundle off of betting against the world economy. Hysterically funny at one moment and a tragedy at the next, this is based on the real story and the actual characters who saw it coming.

First off, the cast is fantastic. So many big names are here and they bring all their skills with them to these roles. Sometimes is is absolutely hysterical, but the seriousness of what they are playing with is one of the greatest scams in human history. These guys just foresaw what was going down and jumped in with both feet to try to profit over it. Using many different techniques (such as totally annihilating the forth wall and having “cameo” celebrities explain the concepts using every day examples) they try to fill us in on what was actually happening. This is the thing I liked most about this film, as it does try to let us in on what the hell happened to the banks, and how the government managed to give billions of dollars (which the banks happily passed out to their executives as giant bonuses) to try and save the economy. This is a cleverly put together film, and if you are at all interested in what the Big Short was about, then this is fine way to learn about it. This is not a mind blowing blockbuster, but it is a solid little film that is quite interesting, and well worth the time to watch it.

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