--- title: "The Big Short: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-big-short/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-big-short" critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Big Short (2015): what the critics said Critics' score 75 from 20 reviews: 16 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics find The Big Short an energetic, angry comedy that makes the financial crisis understandable without making it comfortable. Praise centres on McKay’s irreverent direction, the celebrity explanations and fourth-wall breaks that turn financial jargon into accessible entertainment. The ensemble also draws broad approval, with Christian Bale and Steve Carell singled out, while many reviews value the uneasy humour of following people who stand to profit from collapse. The spread is wide despite the positive majority, and the explanatory devices are a particular dividing point. Slant Magazine finds the direct address condescending and the camerawork distracting; The Hollywood Reporter finds the comedy strained and the repeated discussions of finance wearying. Other reservations concern uneven pacing and the balance between comedy and suffering, while Sight and Sound offers a more specific objection: the film gives economists and regulators too little attention when assigning responsibility. ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 November 2015. The critic calls it a rollicking bad time that turns the meltdown into a heist comedy while elucidating fraud with rigor. It singles out the inventive syntax, celebrity explainers, and brilliant paradox of rooting for economic collapse. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/movie-review-the-big-short.html) ## IndieWire Rating B+. 13 November 2015. Festival review. The review praises the film's energetic and absorbing take on the financial crisis through McKay's surreal vision. It highlights inventive explanations of jargon and irreverence but notes it becomes incensing in the third act. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/2015/11/afi-film-fest-review-adam-mckays-the-big-short-starring-christian-bale-steve-carell-ryan-gosling-and-brad-pitt-120165/) ## Radio Times — Emma Simmonds Rating 4/5. The critic praises the film's masterful swing between irreverence and incredulity, its energetic style that apes high finance, fun explanations of concepts and uniformly superb cast. It highlights how the film remains entertaining and accessible while exposing moral compromises and injustices. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ey9tpt/the-big-short/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 2015. Festival review. The review describes the film as a cleansing blast of outrage and scorn, a wildly entertaining satire that makes dry economic terminology engrossing with a strong cast and prescient thesis about unpunished Wall Street crooks. It notes it can be uneven or strident but finds it rollicking and cathartically funny. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-big-short-review/5096829.article) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2016. The critic praises the film as a riveting and engrossing tragicomic drama about the 2008 financial crisis, highlighting its blend of insight and satirical bite in depicting misfits who profited from the crash. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/24/the-big-short-review-crash-riveting-steve-carell-christian-bale) ## The Telegraph Rating 4/5. 21 January 2016. The critic calls it an uproarious satire that makes complex financial concepts funny while exposing the scumbags of Wall Street, noting its appeal to awards voters. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/14/the-big-short-review-a-comedy-to-make-your-blood-boil/) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 4/5. 15 January 2016. The review calls the film a subversive, riotous take that turns the financial crisis into a sick thrill and satisfying lark, praising McKay's direction, the cast's intensity and the way it captures ego and Cassandra-like warnings. It notes some fuzzy ideas but overall finds the gamble won. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-big-short) ## Financial Times — Philip Stafford Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 2015. The critic finds the film funny, smart and furious in its portrayal of the credit bubble and its causes, praising how it brings the dense book to life in an entertaining way. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/f1c77b5c-9dc6-11e5-b45d-4812f209f861) ## Sight and Sound — Ann Pettifor Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 February 2016. The critic liked the film a lot for its tragi-comic style, fourth-wall breaks and accessible explanations of complex financial concepts via celebrity cameos and visuals like a Jenga tower. She regrets that it does not focus enough on economists and regulators as the real architects of the flawed system. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/numb-number-where-big-short-falls-short) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2015. McKay pastes the choppy mood of modern comedy onto the story of the financial fiasco with exhilarating rants and clever cameos that educate while entertaining. The movie is ultimately a feel-good film about doom that bets on indignation and loses. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/14/hard-bargains) ## Slant Magazine — Zach Lewis Rating 2/4. 7 December 2015. The review criticizes the film for condescending to audiences with fourth-wall breaks and reducing characters to quirks amid shouting matches. It faults frenetic camerawork that obscures narrative while acknowledging the timely message on financial jargon. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-big-short/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 2015. Festival review. The critic finds the film a strenuously unfunny comic drama about Wall Street figures profiting from the 2008 crisis. Repetitive scenes and excessive focus on finance jargon make it wearying despite a strong cast. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/big-short-afi-fest-review-840022/) ## Empire — Helen O'Hara 18 January 2016. McKay makes the financial crisis compelling by emphasising its absurdity as well as its criminality, using star power, fourth-wall breaks and explanatory skits to make the material digestible and entertaining. The result is the best film yet on the 2008 disaster, informative and outrageous without hectoring. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/big-short-review/) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton 25 January 2016. A tonally peculiar but highly effective comedy-drama about the 2008 crash that could be the best film yet made on the subject, thanks to its focus on eccentric outsiders who profited from betting against the market. McKay's broad comedic techniques and strong ensemble performances make the complex material work a treat while highlighting the human cost. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-big-short-film-review-laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank-a3162561.html) ## Film Comment — Harlan Jacobson 9 December 2015. McKay adapts the book on the subprime meltdown with inventive direct-address exposition and strong ensemble performances in a truth-telling Altman-esque narrative. It stands as the year's most incisive picture on financial corruption. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-the-big-short-adam-mckay/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic's Pick. 10 December 2015. The film succeeds as both a true-crime story and madcap comedy that explains the 2008 financial crisis in an exciting way while delivering a scalding polemic. It leaves viewers in a state of rage, nausea, and despair, which is precisely the point. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/movies/review-in-the-big-short-economic-collapse-for-fun-and-profit.html) ## /Film — Jack Giroux Rating 9/10. 13 November 2015. Festival review. The critic praises the film's ability to convey the anger and sadness of the 2008 crisis through humor that heightens the drama without sugarcoating it. They single out the strong ensemble performances, particularly by Christian Bale and Steve Carell, and McKay's accomplished direction. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/541060/the-big-short-review-afi/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2015. The critic praises McKay for crafting a whip-smart dark comedy that makes dense financial concepts understandable through clever devices and a strong ensemble cast. He highlights how the film blends smart humor with serious warnings about the economy. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2015/12/the-big-short-review-christian-bale-steve-carell-brad-pitt-margot-robbie-1201665641/) ## Collider — Brian Formo Rating B+. 11 December 2015. McKay's first drama succeeds magnificently as exciting, passionate filmmaking that is inventive, funny, enraging, and above all informative. The critic singles out the clever use of fourth-wall explanations by characters and celebrities to break down complex financial concepts for the audience. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-big-short-review-christian-bale-brad-pitt/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B+. 8 December 2015. The review highlights the film's inventive approach to explaining complex financial jargon through surreal and irreverent storytelling. It commends the energetic, absorbing narrative and McKay's unique vision, while noting some early stumbles in character development. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-adam-mckays-uniquely-surreal-the-big-short-with-steve-carell-ryan-gosling-christian-bale-and-brad-pitt-20151208/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 December 2015. The critic appreciates the humanity given to the characters, making their actions understandable, and singles out Christian Bale's best performance in years as Michael Burry for its fragility. They note the film's witty observations and playfulness but emphasize its darkness and the horror of the events depicted. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-big-short-2015-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Polygon — Samit Sarkar Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 2015. The film succeeds as a sobering deconstruction of the financial crisis and a surprisingly entertaining movie, with the critic highlighting the effective use of metaphors and fourth-wall breaks to explain jargon. The protagonists' willingness to profit from the collapse is noted as a striking, non-heroic element. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/2015/12/10/9881828/the-big-short-review) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 2015. Festival review. The critic commends the film's inventive lecture-comedy format and ambitious explanations of complex topics, along with strong performances, while noting it can be exhausting and has some stylistic missteps. Overall, it is seen as a laudable surprise that entertains and enlightens. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-big-short-review-ryan-gosling-steve-carell-brad-pitt/) ## Den of Geek — Don Kaye Rating 3/5. 11 December 2015. The film is funny and incisive as McKay's most mature work, with strong turns from Bale, Carell, and Gosling, but it struggles to balance comedy and tragedy while making the financial details clear. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-big-short-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-big-short.md