The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short Review

The Big Short is a 2015 comedy drama film directed by Adam McKay and starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling. It is a critically acclaimed, yet to me annoying movie.

It is basically about the 2008 financial crisis. And although that subject alone is definitely important, only the third act makes use of in a proper way with a couple of powerful scenes. But the rest of the movie is just so incredibly annoying. But The Big Short is above all so weird. I would describe it as a mix of a documentary, sketch comedy and a dictionary. Yes, it is that odd! And although I do appreciate the originality in that concept, the execution is what matters and it is unfortunately very poor.

The documentary aspect is boring and the comedy one just fails. There isn’t anything in this movie that is really funny albeit a couple of moments with Steve Carrel who is undoubtedly the highlight. And it is not because of the subject matter because even that can be funny if the humor is good, but here it’s not. And the third aspect is the dictionary as there are basically scenes in this movie where a character suddenly breaks the fourth wall and starts to explain to us, the audience some economy terms. But that failed not only because it was weird, but also because they did not properly explain those terms whatsoever. I was clueless the entire running time.

The characters are for the most time frustratingly bland and the acting is not particularly memorable or great. Christian Bale and his character is very annoying here and this is his most overrated performance for sure. Ryan Gosling is also pointless and Brad Pitt is forgettable. But Steve Carell is the reason why at least some of the movie works. His character is not only relatable, but interesting and even funny at times. He is the only one who somewhat made me laugh and his performance is certainly the finest in the film.

The directing from Adam McKay is weak in my opinion and the pacing in particular is quite poor. The Big Short is awfully long and inexcusably boring. The entire first half was a chore to sit through. I do not understand economy and I found it boring, but 99 Homes has a similar subject matter and that movie is much more engaging and overall better. But this one fails because it does not ever make it interesting. The tone is also a problem as it shifts from comedy to drama in a not so subtle manner. The dialogue is boring and I did not understand most of the things they were saying. And I have to say how annoying the film is. It is filled with that maddening tone of arrogance that just annoyed me so much and that is mostly the reason why I hated the first half. The second half thankfully got better and the film ended really well. It became dramatic and relevant as the entire movie should have been. But the first half ruined it for me.

The Big Short was nominated for five Academy Awards of which neither is deserved. It won one for Best Adapted Screenplay which was a bad choice, but the editing and directing nods are also ridiculous. As for the supporting actor, it is silly that Bale was nominated and Carell wasn’t. In the end, it is such an overrated movie.