The Big Short

2016 looks like the year of the superhero and the true-life flick. Every comic character to ever don a cape is getting a movie and every event to have ever appeared on the news looks like it's getting one too (with some more worthy than others.)

One which is worthy of such treatment is The Big Short; Adam McKay's latest hones in on the American housing market crash which had such substantial impact on the world's economy.

McKay is unflinching in his brandishing of the high-enders responsible as selfish and foolish but focuses his story on those who saw it coming and cashed in betting the right way (I must highlight at this point that these characters, whilst not as reprehensible as the banks, are certainly not heroes in any sense.)

The issue with a film of this type is throwing context and extremely complicated financial systems at an average audience sitting through a two hour film. It's spectacularly confusing stuff, the entire point of the movie is to explain that the average-Joe was never meant to understand the ins and outs of CDO's and sub-prime mortgages in the first place; hence why things went the way they did, but this obviously puts the viewer at a disadvantage with innumerable acronyms and formulas whizzing straight over your head.

McKay does his best and throws in some wonderful celebrity cameos to try and explain the harder bits of theory (Margot Robbie in a bath anyone?) but you won't leave the cinema much more enlightened than you were before.

The heavy-hitters of the cast do put in fine performances though and what a coup it was getting such massive names involved (Christian Bale is particularly impressive and, amazingly, didn't need any CGI wizardry to achieve his glass eye.)

It does achieve its desired effect of leaving a sickly taste in your mouth afterwards and sheer distaste and distrust of these institutions responsible but isn't the easiest Saturday night watch.

4 stars ****