Customer Reviews
Excellent movie!! 
2008-07-29
I recently became a big fan of Ewan McGregor. While I was looking through all the movies he's been in and reading the reviews, I was unsure whether to buy this. Not having any knowledge of the stock market, I didn't know if I'd like it.
Not only did I wind up loving this movie, it made me very interested in how the stock market works. Ewan McGregor's performance was amazing. I wasn't bored for even a minute. There were no drawn out parts at all...making this movie only 90 minutes was a plus. It was fast paced and exciting. Anyone who likes gambling, even a little bit, could relate to this movie. I was unexpectedly surprised how good this movie was. If you're not a fan of Ewan McGregor....you'll probably become one. I've watched this movie twice already within a few days so I'd definitely recommend buying it.
Rogue Trader: Real-Life ~Wall Street~ 
2008-06-01
For viewers more interested in this story, I suppest Nick Leeson's autobiography which the film is based upon. The book has valuable nuggets like his claim that the BoE's report(him, the lone scapegoat)and the SFO's inquiry were canards lacking the due diligence of the Singaporean investigation & subsequent report.
"Most of us enter the investment business for the same sanity-destroying reasons a woman becomes a prostitute: It avoids the menace of hard work, is a group activity that requires little in the way of intellect, and is a practical means of making money for those with no special talent for anything else."
--Richard Ney, 'The Wall Street Jungle'
Great trading movie. 2008-03-31
Great movie to watch if you are a trader or day trader.
I trade and watch this movie once a year to remind me to keep my risk under control.
More excuse than expose, but slick enough 
2008-02-17
Rogue Trader is a surprisingly slick and enjoyable number just as long as you can overlook its very distant relation to truth about the downfall of Barings Bank in the wake of massive losses and fraud perpetrated by one of its Singapore traders. There's at least two generations who grew up never realizing that producer David Frost used to a vicious satirist, and this is the movie equivalent of one of his interviews, going along with his subjects' account of events no matter how outrageous the excuses become: here he seems to have blown several million pounds providing a celluloid alibi for a dodgy dealer. Thus Ewan McGregor's Nick Leeson becomes a loveable cockney who only got into this mess to save a bullied colleague's job and to save managements' bonuses without disappointing his wife or the memory of his dear old mum. You keep on expecting him to break out into a chorus of Chim Chiminey or start dancing with animated penguins (he's certainly got the blazer for it). Still, with recent events in France the film has aquired a new topicality.
Great Movie 2007-12-28
Great movie about what happens without the proper controls. One trader brings down all of Barings Bank. All based on a true story.
Excellent Film 2007-08-23
When futures trader Nick Leeson is sent to Singapore by the Barings Bank he secretly begins to steal vast amounts of their own money to cover his risky financial wagering.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 3-AUG-2004
Media Type: DVD
mystifying 2007-05-23
In the early 90s, Nick Leeson found himself working in Singapore as a poorly-supervised options trader on behalf of Britain's storied Barings Bank. His defalcation in this capacity (to the tune of over 1.3 billion dollars) led to Baring's unexpected collapse and about 6 years of jail time for the miscreant.
While behind bars, he wrote a story of his life entitled "Rogue Trader." This movie is heavily based on that book.
As for the quality of what you're getting here, I have to say the whole thing's a bit puzzling.
On the surface, there seems nothing wrong with this movie. The acting is all fine, the directing fine, the script fine. In theory the subject matter is interesting and the filmmakers make no obvious blunders.
Yet it's one of those movies that has so little to recommend it that months later you probably won't even be able to remember watching it.
Can't quite put my thumb on why: I've read Leeson's book and found it entertaining in a grisly sort of way.
But here we have a movie, and a movie that simply doesn't work.
Is that because Leeson's story simply does not lend itself well to the medium of film? Is is because the whole thing is predictable and there really aren't any twists? Is is because what Leeson was doing was so complicated that, despite the valiant efforts of the filmmakers, you spend the entire movie more or less in a fog? Is it because the movie contains a scarcity of people to root for?
Whatever the case, you can definitely find something better to do with two hours of your time.
three stars for Rogue Trader 2007-04-29
The rogue trader of the movie is Nick Leeson who brought down the venerable 200-year-old Barings bank. Being based on his biography, the film is full of justification for his financial legerdemain -- his superiors were greedy, he was burdened with inexperienced staff, his wife of high expectations had a miscarriage that precipitated his final gambling run...
Ewan McGregor was uninspired in his playing the lead role and the first two-thirds of the film is a slog. The only reason I didn't rate it any lower is because the subject matter itself is interesting and towards the end the pace does pick up as you try to figure out how much longer Leeson can keep up the deception.
Good Lead Actors, Decent Movie 2007-03-09
McGregor and Friel make a cute couple. While there's not a whole lot of depth, it is a fairly good translation of Nick Leeson's book.
One of Ewan's Best 2006-08-09
I am a big fan of Ewan McGregor and have seen most of his movies. I was hesitant to get this movie because the idea of money, trading, etc. seemed foreign and out of my league. You DO NOT have to know anything about trading to get into this movie. Ewan McGregor gives one of his best performances. You actually feel extremely nervous and uncomfortable as he gets himself deeper and deeper into trouble. You kind of feel like you're going to get in trouble for just watching! Great movie if you love suspense and a "must own" for any Ewan fan.
