Thanks for checking out our Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Review
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Staring: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon
Released: Sept 24, 2010
THE GENERAL IDEA
THE GOOD
Seeing Michael Douglas naturally aging into the man that would be Gekko 23 years later was a treat. Douglas fits the role like an old shoe and all the memories that go with it. He is just as charming and seductive as he was in the original. He is still Gekko, but thankfully he is also Gekko-after-prison and actually evolves with the story instead of just showing up as if the first movie didn’t conclude.
And Shia LaBoeuf? I had hopes for him as an actor and I was not disappointed. While he seems to be attached to projects that earn him some mockery by association, Shia has stepped up his game and he deserves to be in this film. He earned it.
Brolin plays Bretton James, and he is a true product of the corruption and heartless business that the financial world has become. He is the reason for that corruption and very much the “enemy” giving a face to the issues this film addresses. Brolin plays the heartless banker so well he makes Gekko look far less intimidating.
Charlie Sheen makes a cameo appearance as Bud Fox, explaining where he has been for the last 23 years too, and it works well.
THE BAD
Carey Mulligan is wasted in this movie. It seems her only purpose here is to direct hate at Gekko and cry a lot to remind us he is evil. Honestly, if they didn’t have a love interest for Shia LaBoef, I don’t know that it would have mattered at all. She was just another part of his life that gets affected by his situation. He would be just as torn up if a baseball card left by his father was at risk. At least then they wouldn’t have spent all that time trying to convince me to care about his relationship.
There is some pacing issues and there are parts of the film that drag on. That and the forced “purpose” of the film. They couldn’t just make it about Gekko getting out of prison and finding a new way to impact the game he craves? No, they have to throw in some weepy romance, a father daughter redemption story. They could have done this without the obvious “this is why we are doing this” story.
OVERALL
This film will forever be measured against the original, and while Gekko was great to see again, he serves the same purpose in this film as he does in the original. Everyone remembers Wall Street as that Michael Douglas film where he plays Gordon Gekko. But in reality Gekko was a secondary character and the cause of the rise and justification of Bud Fox, and in this film – while its great to see him in his hardass Gekko form – Douglas is secondary.
It really doesn’t stack up to the original as far as impact, but is still a good film on its own, especially with the backdrop of the financial crisis.
I give Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps a 7 out of 10
Yeah…Wallstreet (times 2) was alright…it was going down a bad memory lane watching the housing crisis toilet and each time Casey Mulligan cried I wondered how many light bulbs on the set were wasted on her working up tears. But…the main guy was cute and you could see his potential…he’s earnets….hmmm would I invest stock in him? Well not in anyone/anywhere…I’m Jewish! Wallstreet, no matter how CERTAIN the investor plus no matter how orthodox isn’t worth 5 bucks; I’m 100 lbs, it goes a looooooong way at the grocery.
Yeah. thumbs up (maybe three times, or depending on how much you like seeing money flow.) If your really for it, or against it you could always read up on Abbey Hoffman…he threw bunches of it in front of the Dow and watched people trample over briefcases to get to it…
I was so dissapointed with this movie is not even a joke. that romance crap doesnt work. Money never sleeps? that shouldve been the name for the first movie.. this one shouldve been, Wall Street legalized greed. or better yet, wall street go to sleep, get married and have a kid, lol… I dont wanna see that crap, i wanna see how Gordon has his sleeves rolled up in his million dollar office talking about how he’s gonna make that money with a doughter following his footsteps theeeeeeeeeen meeting a guy whos also as hungry as her. Competing on who can read the stock market better or make better deals, and then maybe the conflict couldve been about making things right. Although in this case, everything is right.lol
Anyways, only one speech from Mr Gordon was ok and we all know which one it is.. and still was half as good as the one he had in the first movie with all the shareholders, and a fraction of the one in the limo where he mentions that he does not want to make 400k/yr flying first class feeling comfy, he’s talking about 50-100mill……. a player!!! now that’s a line.
Never watched the original and not because i was young. I have never been into Michael Douglas and will atempt to watch this over the winter holidays after reading this review along with the 80’s original.
Good review. I read the one for the first film and am now planning on seeing both :D
The sleepy early autumn season lived up to expectations as a chastened Gordon Gekko returned to the spotlight with a modest weekend haul of approximately $19m. Fox initially planned to release Wall Street:money Never Sleeps towards the end of April and later opted for an autumn launch. The markets were more treacherous back in April, and frankly it would have been more relevant to get this out back then, so the delayed release means only one thing: an awards play.
It will be fascinating to see what nominations, if any, the movie manages to pull in. It’s a little soporific in places, and while it’s always good to see Michael Dougles on the screen and watch the latest offering from Oliver Stone, I felt the story had nothing particularly memorable to say about the financial collapse, while the family story lacked resonance. I’m yet to be sold on Shia LaBeouf. He has charisma by the bucketload but still seems too young to be straying from the Disney Channel – for now at least.