A Return to Wall Street

Many businessmen remember the old days of Wall Street, days when brokers made millions of dollars and lived like Gordon Gekko in the original Wall Street. But those days are long gone. That is where Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps begins. Young Jake Moore, played by Shia LaBeouf, works hard on his company and even receives a big bonus from his boss, played by Frank Langella. But it all comes crashing down and his boss commits suicide. Moore has only one place to turn: his fiancée’s father, the once bigtime Wall Street broker Gordon Gekko.

Michael Douglas reprises his memorable role. Gekko helps his future son-in-law get back on his feet and back into business. Other big names in this movie are Carey Mulligan, who plays Moore’s fiancee and Gekko’s daughter, and Josh Brolin, who plays Gekko and Moore’s competitor, Bretton James.

Let me first admit that I have not seen the first Wall Street movie. One thing that I really liked about this movie is that one does not have to see the first film to understand this one. If you have not seen the first movie, do not be discouraged and pass over this film.

As far as the acting goes, I enjoyed most of the performances. LaBeouf, Brolin and Mulligan were believable and made the movie entertaining. However, veterans Douglas and Langella simply overshadowed their acting. For the few moments that Langella was on screen, he was astounding. Douglas was also phenomenal, as usual, and I loved his protrayal of Gekko. Douglas alone made me want to go back and watch the first film.

Oliver Stone proved his directing talent with his first sequel. Several shots, especially one particular scene in the woods, were professionally done and scene transitions could not have been smoother. Also, I felt Stone did a really great job with symbolism in this film.

With the good, however, usually comes the bad. Granted, I do not know too many business terms. I should have probably known what the dialogue was going to be like in a film called Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. However, I thought I would at least be able to follow along. If you do not know anything about business, I would probably skip this film. Most of the time, I thought I knew what they were talking about, only to learn I had no idea. Most of it you may be able to assume, but never really know.

One more thing: Susan Sarandon is in the film. Yes, that actor who is a household name is in the film and her role, though minor, was memorable. Yet, her role was pretty pointless. In fact, her character’s name is Jake’s Mom. Reminds me of that time I played Shark #1 in grade school. Overall, I would say save your money and go see Inception for the third time.