The trailer for Jodie Foster’s latest directing effort Money Monster came out of nowhere and offered up a very 90s style thriller with a great cast including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, and Giancarlo Esposito. Could this film offer up the impact that the trailer promises or will it be all trailer and no substance worth investing in?

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Money Monster follows financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty who are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes over their studio at gun point after losing everything. From the opening of the film you can see that there is clearly a bigger picture agenda with the story, but they have crafted it perfectly to never come off preachy in anyway, but still punch that point home. George Clooney does a great job in the role bringing a swagger about him when he is introduced and doing the ridiculous stuff in his show, but his character quickly changes when the tides are turned. This forces Clooney to offer up a different aspect to the character that showcases more humanity and fear than you see initially. Julia Roberts steps into the producer role of Clooney’s show but she offers up so much more in both her leadership of the running his show as well as the hostage situation they are all a part of. While there are some obvious directions the film is going to go they format to its execution will keep you intrigued until the final moments of the finale. Despite the film being pretty heavy there are some light hearted amusing moments early on that helps to make the events unfolding work all the better.

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Everything here works thanks to some great performances, a quick pace and a story that everyone can relate to all wrapped in a smart thriller with a satisfying ending. It’s rare to get a movie like this very often these days and everyone involved knocked it out of the park to create a powerful and intriguing film with an important message without all the preachy nonsense.