Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

 

Wall Street 2

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
Also known as Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Release: May 14, 2010
Studio: 20^th Century Fox
Director: Oliver Stone
Rated PG-13

Review by James Klein

When I first heard that there was going to be a sequel to 1987's Wall Street, my first reaction was: Gee, it's pretty rare to see a sequel to a non-genre film. Usually sequels are either comedies, science fiction, action or horror films. So to see a sequel to Oliver Stone's original with the same star and director returning, I welcomed it with open arms. Finally, no remake/rehash/re-imagining rip-off. Thankfully, the cast and Stone's direction helped save this movie from being just that, a rehash.

Gordon Gekko is released from jail in 2001 and while released he sees that not one person is there to greet him or pick him up. The mighty big shot is alone and his anger is just starting to brew. Jump to eight years later and we now center our attention on Jake Moore, a young Wall Street trader whose mentor commits suicide after the stock market goes way down and he's denied a bailout from a former businessman named Bretton James who he once crossed eight years prior when his company was going down. Knowing that James was the cause of the suicide, Jake wants revenge. It just so happens that Jake is going to be married to Gekko's estranged daughter and that Gekko himself would like his own revenge against James who was the cause for him being in jail.

While the set up is interesting and done well, as the film  progresses it seems like we are just watching the original Wall Street again with Shia Lebouf taking over for the Charlie Sheen role. By the time we get to the third act in the picture, the film jumps the shark and has Gekko suddenly turning against Jake and his own daughter until an almost hilarious climax where he suddenly changes his tune and is forgiven for everything he has done.

But the film is saved to an excellent cast such as Douglas, James Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella and Eli Wallach. Douglas even has an Oscar worthy moment where he tells his daughter how hurt he was that he was left alone while in jail and how he wants to be a part of her life again. Scenes such as these help alleviate this sequel past mediocrity. Stone doesn't go too nuts with his direction either and yet he still keeps the film interesting with some split screen moments and some fancy camera work. But don't expect the same style in his Natural Born Killers or U-Turn; he seems to be kept under control this time.

For fans of the original film, you shouldn't be disappointed and you may enjoy this sequel if you can get past the last 45 minutes and it's hilariously unrealistic ending. So for now, it looks like greed still works.

- Read the full story at UnRatedMagazine.com