Fancy entering the world of business and finance? There are plenty of movies suggesting it is a bad idea, like 1987’s Wall Street, 1999’s Rogue Trader, 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, and now 2025’s Bull Run. Not to be confused with the 2022 movie of the same name, it is an adaptation of Discussion Materials, a biting book on banking by Bill Keenan (Odd Man Rush 2020), which premiered in theaters and on digital platforms on November 14, 2025, via Vertical. Keenan himself served as one of the producers and helped adapt his book into a screenplay with director Alfredo Barrios Jr (Burn Notice series, Six series).
The movie follows Bobby Sanders (Tom Blyth: Benediction 2021, Billy the Kid series), a junior banker who is not exactly in love with his job. He is smart enough to blag his way through deals, see through business jargon, and come up with convincing numbers. But things hit a snag when his supervisor, Chandler (Sam Daly: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox 2013, The Office series), commits suicide, leaving him to seal his company’s biggest deal while avoiding the axe from his boss, Abernathy (Jay Mohr: Jerry Maguire 1996, Go 1999), and romance Michelle (Jordyn Denning: Landman series, Pam & Tommy series), an analyst.
But is it any good? Well, Blyth is quite personable in the role of Sanders, occasionally making asides to the audience, as if it were a play or Saved by the Bell. He bounces off of his colorful coworkers, even if the only one that really leaves an impression is Farouk (Ashwin Gore: Take the Night 2022, 9-1-1 series), a pompous, pampered Egyptian with dreams of getting into the movie business.
The likes of Abernathy or Gemma (Alyshia Ochse: That One Audition series, Outbreak 2024), among others, are essentially archetypes that anyone familiar with 1999’s Office Space will recognize. Let alone the darker likes of The Wolf of Wall Street or more serious workplace dramas. However, what might have worked in Keenan’s book does not work out well on screen, as the dialogue is heavy on business jargon and light on making people care about the characters.
There is enough for viewers to follow the plot- Sanders is unhappy but staying afloat, Gemma is savvy and scheming, Farouk is missing his overpriced phone charger, etc. But do they sympathize with Sanders’ lost dreams of being an ice hockey player? Or try to escape his dead-end job without tanking the company for everyone else? Not really, as they do not leave much impact. What they may remember is LTM EBITDA, greenwashing, solar futures, Farouk’s screenwriting ambitions, divorce this, handjob that, etc.
It is all a bit of a grey smear that might get a chuckle out of people familiar with the banking world or similar white-collar jobs. Aside from Sanders’ snarky observations and occasional pranks, there is not much to interest viewers. Why should they feel suspense over Sanders losing a job he already dislikes? Or his loser coworkers getting caught in the fallout? There is not much at stake, so why should the viewers get invested?
Even his romantic subplot with Michelle feels perfunctory. It could have been neat, as there are traces of a love crossroads- does he follow his athletic dream by going with Michelle, the woman he has fallen for? Or does he follow his head and go with Gemma, an influential figure who likes him, but could crush him the moment things turn ugly? Someone else could turn that into a neat power play (if they have not already). But in Bull Run, it lingers as a ghost of an idea.
Still, the movie is shot well, and its sound direction is pretty neat too, bar some less-than-pleasant music choices in the opening. The cast’s performances are on point, too, but the dialogue is dry as a bone, and the story offers little meat for people to tuck into. ‘Discussion Materials’ is rather well-regarded, so curiosity seekers should stick to the book. Otherwise, Cryptic Rock gives Bull Run 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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