It's 'the Big Short' on a smaller scale
There's nothing inherently wrong, or bad, about this film. However the story has effectively already been told in The Big Short and Dumb Money is the poorer/weaker cousin of the pair.
The events are not the same. The 2008 Financial Crisis and the 2020 GameStop short squeeze are not the same - hence it's a slightly different story. But all the story beats are the same. Some plucky individual/s spot something Wall Street hasn't and 'bets' in the opposite direction. Wall Street hurts and the plucky individuals make money.
The difference is that Dumb Money lacks the spark or pizzazz of it's elder cousin. It really fits the mould of a Netflix film which was written and made quickly to keep up the churn rate of new movies from the streamer. The Big Short tells it's story more expertly, with more detail, more comedy even and a better cast. Dumb Money by comparison feels very much 'by the numbers' and thus disappoints in comparison.
As I've said above - there's nothing wrong with the film but it just doesn't add up enough for me to give it a high score. So I'm settling on the 5/10.
The events are not the same. The 2008 Financial Crisis and the 2020 GameStop short squeeze are not the same - hence it's a slightly different story. But all the story beats are the same. Some plucky individual/s spot something Wall Street hasn't and 'bets' in the opposite direction. Wall Street hurts and the plucky individuals make money.
The difference is that Dumb Money lacks the spark or pizzazz of it's elder cousin. It really fits the mould of a Netflix film which was written and made quickly to keep up the churn rate of new movies from the streamer. The Big Short tells it's story more expertly, with more detail, more comedy even and a better cast. Dumb Money by comparison feels very much 'by the numbers' and thus disappoints in comparison.
As I've said above - there's nothing wrong with the film but it just doesn't add up enough for me to give it a high score. So I'm settling on the 5/10.
- death-hawk1
- Jul 24, 2024