'Money Monster' is not a total misfire, just a missed opportunity

The times seem to be ripe for a politically-charged thriller with anti-Wall Street overtones, but the new film Money Monster really isn't that kind of movie.

It's a perfectly watchable, competent movie with George Clooney delivering yet another one his charismatic star turns, the kind he can probably do in his sleep at this point. It's not a bad movie, but it could have been a great one, which is why it's maddening on some levels.

The premise is strong. A shallow, egotistical Jim Cramer-style host of a financial advice show (played by Clooney) gets held hostage by a viewer he unintentionally led astray.

Now, if only the antagonist had been truly formidable or actress Jodie Foster's direction been a little more imaginative, and this film could have been a classic.

Foster as an actress has a distinct rhythm and power, but her directorial work here has no voice or style. So the heavy lifting mostly falls on Clooney, who is as game as ever in the lead role (Julia Roberts is fine in a mostly thankless second lead). After walking out of this movie I came to believe that the film's biggest flaw/mistake is the casting of the relatively unknown Jack O'Connell as his would-be kidnapper.

It's not that O'Connell gives a terrible performance. He does a decent job with a pretty underwritten role. But this part really cried out for another star of Clooney's caliber. It would have been very cool to see him match wits with Denzel Washington or maybe even a whacked-out Jake Gyllenhaal.

O'Connell and Clooney

This even could have been a case where casting someone to type would have made a lot more sense cinematically.

Put someone like Michael Shannon in the role of the enraged, aggrieved interloper and I've already got goosebumps. It's a part that could have used a little over-the-top intensity.

O'Connell is too innocent and cherubic to ever really create a sense of danger. I never really saw him as a physical threat to Clooney, and so scenes that are meant to be crackling with tension never really generate too much excitement. Things start to kick into higher gear by the film's third act, but it feels almost like too little too late.

Clooney has been going through a bit of slump lately. Both The Monuments Men and Tomorrowland earned mixed reviews and were considered somewhat disappointing at the box office, and although Hail, Caesar was a critical hit, audiences avoided it in droves.

Money Monster will hardly go down as one of his most memorable movies, but I hope he doesn't stop making this kind of adult, non-special-effects-driven film any time soon. He remains one of our few remaining classic movie stars, who almost always delivers smart entertainment.

And for my money, that's always worth the price of a ticket.