Cinema goers have been waiting over twenty years to see a sequel to the superb 1987 movie Wall Street. This Sunday, I had to wait just twenty minutes as before this fine, and indeed lazy February Sunday, I sat down and watched the original for the very first time.
The folks at Fox kindly sent me a wonderful double-edition of the film to watch, and being full of cold (some may call it man-flu), I broke my Wall Street virginity, and watched Oliver Stone’s first film, and indeed gawped at Michael Douglas’s performance of Gordon Gecko in all its glory. I loved the hell out of it, and it’s only fitting now, in today’s economic climate that the sequel is released, twenty-three years on. I missed the opportunity to see the seqel at the cinema last year, purely by choice in not having seen the first flick, but was thankful to watch it shortly after the end credits rolled on the original.
So, here we are, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. So what’s it all about? Well, it’s now 2008, and Gordon Gekko has been in prison for the best part of fourteen years, which is where we start our journey. Gekko is seen leaving prison with nothing, save an gold money clip (with no money), gold watch and oversized 1980’s mobile phone. We are then fast-forwarded another seven years into the future and into the heart of New York where we meet Wall Street trader Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) and girlfriend Winnie (Carey Mulligan), who just so happens to be the daughter of Gordon Gekko, with whom she hasn’t spoken to since the day he was sent to prison. So, the film kicks off, and everything is rosy in the life of Jake and Winnie, when Jake is given a whopping $1 million bonus, some of which he uses to buy his lovely lady an engagement ring, with the rest going into stocks… Then it all moves along in the same vein as the original movie. We’re thrusted into the world of Wall Street, with a whole lot of buying, selling, wheeling, dealing, schmoozing, losing and suicide-ing, and for twenty minutes or so it’s fantastic. Yes, it’s modern day trading, very different to what we witnessed in Stone’s financial world of the 1980s. Gekko, meanwhile has become a writer, and into the land of public speaking and book signing, where his and Jake’s worlds collide. The two become aquaintances, and Jake starts to help Gekko to reform a relationship with his estranged daughter, while he advises him on financial interests, which includes dealings with Josh Brolin’s character, Bretton James.
Of course there is a twist in the tale, which we eventually get to in the film’s plot, and believe me, there is one in there somewhere. I got 90 minutes in literally waiting for something to happen. I was enjoying proceedings, and the film moves along a a fairly steady pace – Stone employing the likes of 21st century face-paced movie editing, shiny bright lights moving across the screen very fast, slow motion, time lapse, 24 style split screen, Blackberry’s, iPhones, steady-cams – but not a lot actually happens, that is until, about half hour from the end, where the script, and thus Stone, decides to pack in as much as they possibly can to wrap things up and make things make sense. It’s exhausting.
Then there is the ending. One word can describe it. Fluffy. Or, pink and fluffy if you want two words. The original was so bang on, and the ending so fitting, and being a newbie to the flick, still actually (mobile phone and computer technology put aside) stands up to this day. It’s ending left you wanting more, and I really wanted to see where the characters of both Gordon Gekko and Bud Fox went in the second film. Sadly, Gekko’s involvement is reduced to not much more than a supporting role, and indeed doesn’t present himself until 30 minutes in to Wall Street 2, and Bud Fox? Well, yes Charlie Sheen makes an appearance, but really it’s almost a caricature of the character from his possibly greatest movie character from 20 years ago, but this film would have benefitted more by not having him included in iy, and only referred to in the dialogue.
Yes, having watched both films on the same day, my opinion may be slightly blighted by the original’s far superiority, but the first film features such fine performances from the likes of Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah, and even John C. McGinley from a wonderful script by Stone and Stanely Weiser, this just didn’t compare. Let’s not forget that Douglas won the Oscar for his original potrayal of Gekko in the original. I really shouldn’t compare, but isn’t everyone going to do that?
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps does boast an impressive cast, and all do as much as they can with the script that they have been given. The film is not written by Stone, for reasons that I do not know, and yes it may have benefitted should he have had an influence on the story. This sequel’s very existence may even harm the original’s prestige and diluted its high regarding, and true, there is a double edition of both movies available on shelves. This edition is not priced much more than if you were to buy Money Never Sleeps on its own, so is easily the best option if you absolutely must see/ own both films.
Greed is good , and that statement is true if you are a movie exec whose eyes must have lit up as a Wall Street 2 was pitched at them, but the original is so, so good that the sequel wilts in comparison. Not a terrible movie by a long stretch, but by no means as superb as the highyl regarded, wonderful original.
If your curiousity gets the better of you, then check it out…
Grade: C-
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is available on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK now.
Our friends at LOVEFiLM have a huge back catalogue including WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS, you can also now watch movies online as well as rent them.
