I saw this in theatre back in 2015 and liked it. But this second viewing really turned my opinion around. There was a nice, quick pace but the story was all over the place. The humour was too forced, breaking the fourth wall seemed out of place and there were too many cameos of people who went by their real names.
shareI just watched it again, and the entire movie is done in the same manner as The Office and many other NBC (non-laughtrack) comedy serials like Parks & Recreation and 30 Rock.
My biggest issue with the movie was the half-ass payoff at the end with Dr. Burry's B.S. soliloquy on his life, as if his perspective on economic gains is somehow a curse when he in fact pocketed hundreds of millions. I also felt that they oversold Michael Baum's internal pain of losing his brother to suicide. It was enough to mention it once, but they made it part of his psychosis throughout the film. His side crew also got too much attention as they served no purpose other than to make Michael Baum's firm look more important. I was more interested in Gosling's character and his supporting cast like his "quant". His character was the one who unveiled the CDO scam in the first place, but he was eventually reduced to the voice talking into our ear (4th Wall).
Also, the finishing summaries at the end seem to be incorrect when it tells us that Dr. Burry is only investing in water now but in fact he also invests in real estate and gold.
Oh, that side crew was another complaint of mine all together. I didn't even remember them the second time I saw it. Too much attention was focussed on them. They felt like annoying fratboys.
shareWhat's amazing is the film does a good job making you think that the Shorters are the protagonists when in fact they made a fortune off of the banks' scam using CDOs. Sure they showed Mark Baum as this pontificating head case but he still pocketed tens of millions.
The tried to rectify this by showing that homeless family who were renting a house owned by a delinquent landlord with a NINJa loan but it was cheap and hamfisted at best.
The humor is what makes this movie watchable! Otherwise, only economist would have seen it.
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