Rogue Trader Reviews
Rogue Trader is a terrible waste of the talents of Ewan McGregor.
| Mar 11, 2015
Nick Leeson, as the tale goes, was the man who had everything -- intelligence, charm, dream wife and job -- and spectacularly lost it. Unfortunately, Rogue Trader fares little better.
| Mar 11, 2015
Its plot alone is potentially fascinating, but as it stands, Rogue Trader remains notable only for the potential it squanders.
| Mar 11, 2015
Both McGregor and Friel turn in excellent, sympathetic performances.
| Mar 11, 2015
The pace is slow, the film only really picking up right towards the end, with too little, too late, but a dynamic central performance from McGregor keeps you watching.
| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 11, 2015
Try as he might, Dearden can't stir the movie out of sluggishness, and given that we already know its infamous conclusion, there's no suspense.
| Mar 11, 2015
Succeeding neither as a dissection of rampant egoism nor as a critique of the British class system, and rooting shamelessly for its notorious protagonist, this not-so-cautionary tale about the perils of white-collar crime is a piece of cinematic puffery.
| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 11, 2015
Patchy but worthy.
| Mar 11, 2015
Unfortunately James Dearden, who wrote and directed Rogue Trader, ignores all the enticing genre possibilities and turns out a plodding biopic, featuring a central character with all the depth of the despicable yuppie from the Audi commercial.
| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 11, 2015
Rogue Trader fails to get beyond the sensational headlines which [Nick Leeson's] exploits inspired at the time.
| Jun 18, 2012
Rogue Trader ends up looking simply passe, an '80s yarn in a '90s setting, at a time when money-market characters have long ceased to be heroes for the media or the general public.
| Mar 26, 2009
No one else involved in the film is able to match McGregor's conviction.
| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 28, 2006
McGregor puts his all into the role; his sweating earnestness, however, isn't enough to break the overall inertia, and the rest of the cast are simply bystanders.
| Feb 9, 2006
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 23, 2005
a superb story, simply but effectively told
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 18, 2005
An intriguing true story, a magnetic lead actor, and yet the result is pancake-flat.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 29, 2004
Truly, truly boring.
Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | May 31, 2004
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 23, 2003
The story is there, but we have lost its central figure behind the sham of dramatic compromise.
| Mar 5, 2002
Full Review | Original Score: 54/100 | Jan 1, 2000