I have not done a movie review in a while. I watched The Big Short last weekend on Netflix (side note: Netflix is great and I highly recommend it). The Big Short is about the 2007-2008 housing crisis based on the book by Michael Lewis. I read the book and reviewed it back in 2011. (Wow that was a long time ago.) I really liked the book as it did a good job explaining, in simple yet detailed terms, how and why the crisis happened. Plus I really like Michael Lewis' writing style.
I was surprised when they announced The Big Short would be made into a movie. My first thought was there is no way the average person is going to understand this stuff. The movie addresses that by pausing and having celebrities like Selena Gomez explain a complicated concept in simple terms. Honestly, one of the weirdest things I've ever seen in a movie. It felt like something made for a high school class. The movie follows three people and how they bet against the housing crisis. It does a good job building suspense. I also thought it did a good job, albeit maybe too over the top, of demonstrating how ridiculously easy it was to get a home loan.
I recall the movie getting decent reviews. I have no idea how. I cannot imagine a movie buff liking this. I cannot imagine someone interested in business or the financial crisis liking this. I think the success of the movie is based on Michael Lewis' past successes as well as one of the few attempts to bring an explanation of the housing crisis to the mainstream public.
I don't usually do ratings for movie reviews. In this case, I would simply say read the book or find something else to watch.
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