Takes the wrong tone

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2016)

The Big Short attempts to turn the story of global economic collapse into light-hearted fare, with the occasional pain and insight that people have lives and feelings that get hurt. Intelligent investors hypocritically profiteer at what they see as the end of capitalism, blaming greedy bankers. But there's no analysis of the total entrenchment of capitalism in the global economy, and how centuries of greed, corruption, and profiteering brought us to the brink.
Inside Job was a much more meaningful warning about rampant capitalism and government complicity, without the need to sugarcoat any details. The Big Short's lighthearted tone seems to defeat its purpose. And being told that credit default swaps are not that complicated, because even B-list celebrities can explain them, is trite.
The movie's shaky cam, overuse of stills, and incessant breaking of the fourth wall destroy the pace and make you think it would be better enjoyed as part of a live Twitter feed. And whatever moral dilemmas the characters face, it's easy to see nothing compares to the undeniable truth of capitalism: people prefer two dollars over one.
Maybe the reason there are no African-American Oscar nominations for acting is because the movies of 2015 (consider also Spotlight and Mad Max: Fury Road) show that the world is being screwed over royally by white people.
When the aliens land and discover our societal ruins, they will at least have access to our movie archives, and they will say, "At least they had fun destroying themselves."