Review: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Posted September 24, 2010 12:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In 1987, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street hit theatres and taught us via the slick stock broker character Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) that “Greed is good.” Twenty-three years later and Stone is at it again with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Only difference is that this time around, his film is showing us the repercussions of greed. His intentions are in the right place, however; a movie about how crappy our economy is isn’t as fun as a movie about rich sleazeballs living the fast life and spending cash like there’s no tomorrow. It’s quite boring actually.
The film opens with Gekko being released from prison where he served time for unlawful stock trading tactics. No family or friends are there to greet him upon his release, and he is flat broke. Jump ahead a few years and we find Jake (Shia LaBeouf), a young, up-and-coming hot shot broker who just happens to date Gordon Gekko’s estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan), watching Gekko on TV one morning (Gordon has written a book and is climbing his way back to the top). Against Winnie’s wishes, Jake gets involved with Gekko and believes he’s changed for the better — that is until he shows his true colours and proves that the only thing he truly cares about is money. There’s also a sub-plot involving Jake and big-shot banker Bretton James (Josh Brolin), who comes across more like the Gekko character from the original film than the Gekko character in this version.
It’s no secret that most of the movie-going public love to hate Shia LaBeouf. I’m probably one of the few who actually likes the guy and think he’s a decent actor (or at least better than 60 per cent of this new crop of fresh faces currently gracing our screens). He’s also a better actor than Charlie Sheen was when he made the original Wall Street (look for a funny cameo appearance by Sheen). Douglas, who won his only Oscar for playing Gekko, turns in a tired performance and drops all the elegance of the character from when we first saw him. I get that this is the point, but again, it makes for boring viewing. Mulligan is completely wasted and is never allowed to develop the Winnie character into more than an emotional basket-case. The true stand-out (and potential Oscar nominee) is Brolin. The guy spews so much anger from his character that you instantly despise him but you won’t be able to turn away when he’s onscreen either.
Stone has nothing to prove as a director anymore. He’s already in the books as one of the great filmmakers of our time. I wouldn’t say he’s gotten sloppy, but it does feel like the film is more of a sandbox of ideas from a young director rather than a solid Oliver Stone movie. The use of effects that weren’t even cool in the ‘80s (wipes, split-screen, etc.), the lack of development from new characters, the over-abundance of new characters without a purpose (Susan Sarandon plays Jake’s mother and adds absolutely nothing to the story) — it’s all too much. If he kept the vibe of the original and didn’t try so desperately to focus on real-world problems, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps could have been a perfect follow-up instead of the snooze-fest that it is.
** out of 5 stars
Rated PG
Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carrie Mulligan
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Official Site IMDb
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
