As the host of the show Money Monster, Lee Gates decodes and simplifies the mechanisms of finance as an over-the-top spectacle in which he tries to help regular people who want to invest their money without taking risks. A stranger crashes this show during a live broadcast, takes Gates hostage at gunpoint and forces him to put on an explosive vest. The man has lost all his savings because of Monster Money tips, and he now demands answers as he accuses the system of ripping off citizens. Gates tries to keep the situation under control as his director works behind the scenes to help...

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A change in tone for director Jodie Foster. Five years after her beautiful melodrama The Beaver starring Mel Gibson, the two-time Best Actress Oscar-winner tries her hand at a big budget thriller with Money Monster. Her fourth time outing in the director’s chair, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts is being shown out of competition at Cannes. The result is positive for Foster, who master the exercise with skill and includes a handful of suspenseful scenes. Unfortunately, she can’t overcome weaknesses of a simplistic, Hollywood script that takes no chances and is too caricatured to be worthy of its fascinating story Money Monster is ultimately much less clever than it thinks it is. Far from offering a insight on the financial world, capitalism or the role of media, the movie turns out to be a modest, superficial bit of entertainment.