Review: Wall Street Money Never Sleeps

Plot: The follow-up to Oliver Stone's 1987 ode to 80s greed Wall Street, the sequel finds Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) a popular author and lecturer during the 2008 financial crisis. An ex-inmate for insider trading and securities fraud, Gekko wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) who blames Gekko for her brother's suicide. Gekko's in is young wall street stock broker Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) Winnie's fiance. While Jake is hoping to use Gekko to destroy rival Bretton James (Josh Brolin) will greed, lies, and misdirection corrupt them all?

Review: Many questioned the need for a sequel to Oliver Stone's 1987 film Wall Street. Was there really a pressing need for Michael Douglas to revisit the role that won him the Academy Award? Probably not but Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is nevertheless an entertaining, well acted, and satisfying film whose subject matter remains socially relevant almost a quarter of a century later.
Money Never Sleeps is much more intriguing from a visual standpoint than I would have expected. Shot like a Smart Phone Junkie's wet dream, we're constantly inundated with split screens that break up business transactions like a Wall Street ticker. The decision to compile the film in this manner only demonstrates the brilliance of director Oliver Stone. Money Never Sleeps is easily his best film in a decade and demonstrates he still has the moxie of a young filmmaker. (And the ability to draw bank too! Money Never Sleeps made over $130,000,000 at the box office.) The resulting effect is like watching a two hour BlackBerry infused piece of celluloid that gives homage to the digital age. Credit has to be given to movie editors David Brenner and Julie Monroe who managed to make the visuals as riveting as the dramatic sequences.
Shia LaBeouf is excellent as the young wunderkind Jake. It's easily his best work to date. His character bears little resemblance to the greedy Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) of the first film. Rather Jake's motivation is revenge against billionaire Bretton James who he blames for his mentor Louis Zabel's (Frank Langella) suicide. What's notable here is how strong twenty-four year old LaBeouf stacks up against Oscar caliber actors like Langella and Brolin. The tense confrontation between Brolin and LaBeouf in the woods is just as impressive as the subdued and nuanced scenes in Langella's office. The kid from the Disney Show Even Stevens has come a long way.
Not to be outdone in the mix is actress Carey Mulligan who also happens to be LaBeouf's real life girlfriend. A stellar young talent already with an Academy Award Best Actress nomination for last year's An Education, the English actress continues to impress. Mulligan's Winnie comes across as a strong independent woman that is haunted by the relationship with her father. The confrontation between her and Douglas outside a charity event and a heart-rending scene with Jake about two thirds of the way through the movie, make you wonder how at twenty-five someone could have this much talent. As an audience we have the fortune of watching Miss Mulligan for many years to come.
However, Wall Street wouldn't be Wall Street without Gordon Gekko and it's good to know that Douglas can still fit the bill. Douglas roles out a slightly more nuanced and reserved Gekko in Oliver Stone's sequel. Gekko comes across in many ways as a broken and lonely man looking for reconciliation. Never underestimate the financial lion however as by the end of the film we get to see Douglas in all his slick backed, cigar smoking Gordon Gekko glory.
While Wall Street Money Never Sleeps is a tad long and sometimes meanders and becomes preachy, it's still a solid and entertaining outing by Stone and Company.
Twenty-four years later greed is still good.

Rating: 8/10