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Rogue Trader

Rogue Trader

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $11.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Try to fight the market, and the result....Chapter 11
Review: It really is a great movie. I've seen it twice from my friend and I still am going to buy it. This movie really takes you along with it to experience both pain resulted from greed and ambition, and a little success that made Leeson a hero.....for a limited time. Just shows you that the no matter how liquid or powerful you are, if you try to chase the market and win back your losses, you can end up losing everything.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: lost in time
Review: maybe, mr mcgregor could have watched wall street before he sleptwalk thru this uneven sloppy movie. Being a crass american, it is possible maybe brits are that cold and unemotional.I could not follow what the tone of the movie was, a morality play, a period peice who the hell knows.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant performance (McGregor)... Incredible Stupidity
Review: on the part of the upper management at Barings. I never cease to be amazed at how unstructured and ineffective many of our most supposed business leaders are. To me that was the best part of the story. How procedure and process is overlooked as long as the 'profits' keep rolling in and the incredible sense of arrogance and invincibility of the elite and powerful. Trades not verified, faxes accepted at face value, funds transferred out of fear rather than sound judgement.

And I found the film rather uncomfortable to watch. A true credit to McGregor's performance. It's almost like I could feel the weight of the incredible strain that he was under. Yet he (Nick Leeson) was also naive and arrogant enough to believe that he alone could move the market.

Although I don't know how true to the facts this film was I certainly felt like the events and atmosphere were honestly and objectively presented.

Unfortunately a film like this, as outstanding as it was, is not a film that I could see myself viewing over and over again. So definitely of 5 star quality but not necessarily a purchase.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: bogus
Review: one of the worst movies ever this stuff must have been made up and total lack of common sense makes this movie an amatureish comedy

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: bogus
Review: one of the worst movies ever this stuff must have been made up and total lack of common sense makes this movie an amatureish comedy

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good story, bad acting
Review: Since I am somewhat knowledgeable of the derivatives industry and the true story behind Barings, I can say precisely what was wrong with this movie: bad acting, wrong format. The bad acting was caused by actors who did not know what they were saying when they were uttering their lines (e.g. margin accounts, variation margin). And by wrong format I mean instead of trying to explain derivatives through the plot, they should have had a narrator explain instead. For instance, at one point the back office clerk asks Nick, "What's the difference between "initial margin and variation margin?". Her delivery is so bad that it is obvious she was scripted to ask the question so that the audience understands this crucial difference later in the movie. Needles to say, I love the subject matter, and that made up for the bad acting, lame lines, and British dental issues. There is also some nudity which is definitely redeeming.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: about this title of movie......
Review: The story of this movie is average but is banned in Singapore for good(not sure why).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great and unique movie
Review: This a great movie with a great star Ewan Mcgregor !He acted perfectly !

Thank you for doing such great, funny, sad, stressful, rich and unique movie ! special thanks to the super star Ewan Mcgregor !

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Story
Review: This film must have gone direct to video in the US because I don't remember seeing a listing for it in theaters. This is a true story of Nick Leeson which it seems is somewhat controversial in Europe, especially in Great Britain. It is always difficult to depict a story from the headlines without controversy, because so many people have already formed opinions about the events from media accounts. This film was taken from Leeson's book, and therefore it depicts him favorably as not such a rogue after all. I'm certain that based upon the emotional reaction to the Barings Bank fiasco, this must have outraged a lot of people.

Here in the states, this news apparently was not quite as sensational as in Europe. Honestly, I must admit that when I was watching this movie, it took me a while to make the connection. I remembered Barings, but not Leeson's name. I had no recollection what happened to him. Since I only knew part of the ending, that made the movie more enjoyable. I suspect this might be the case with a lot American viewers.

This was a terrific film. Ewan McGregor was fabulous as the rogue. You like him right away, with his wide eyed ambition and determination and his blue collar work ethic. He brought great energy to the part and handled the broad range of emotions of his character with great skill.

The story was electrifying and (if you weren't already familiar with every detail) sucked you in with the anticipation of what he would try next to extricate himself. Of course, the story was told from Leeson's perspective and it made him very human, almost romantic and a victim of circumstance. I'm sure this was overly kind to him, but from the standpoint of enjoyment of the film, it worked well. Dearden's direction was well done, especially the madness of the trading floor.

My only criticism of this film was the audio. I found it very uneven with a lot of dropped dialogue that faded into inaudible mumbles.

All in all, I gave this film a 9. It may not have been totally accurate as history, but it was great entertainment

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: How one man broke Bearings Bank
Review: This film tells the true story of Nick Leeson, the floor trader on Simex exchange,Singapore, who singly handedly broke Barings Bank, in the mid '90's. Of how one mans ambition was overcome by pressures, and in turn, reckless gambling.

An incredible aspect of this case was how Leeson covered up for so long, and fooled so many, who it seemed, were so wrapped up in their own company rhetoric they simply wanted to believe in Leeson. The regional manager in Singapore had never even heard of the name of the brokerage house Leeson used to "invent" a trade to cover the missing and ever increasing deficit being incured in the "88888" account, a supposed customer account, but in reality, an back office error account.

The pace of the story is very well done here. My only gripe is, for a film with excellent supporting cast, why did they take so little care over the choice of the leading players? Ewan McGreggor is convincing as Leeson only when the sickly scenes with his wife are not on screen, the hoplessly miscast Lisa.

Some may find the numerous and fast financial terms not easy to follow. But a fascinating story, with great use of background music.


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