burntouthack

(2012-04-29 11:28:53)

The first Wall Street was all fun scenes - where are the fun scenes in this?

It might be "wrong" to enjoy Gekko and Fox's balla lifestyle in theoriginal movie, but that's what you watch it for, damnit! You sure ashell don't watch it for Fox's romance with Daryl Hannah character.Oliver Stone usually hits the mark but he was never going to hitanything with this sequel's dry, incomprehensible plot. It really didfeel like a three-hour film. You've got to love the product placementtoo - I'm talking about the Heineken in the restaurant film. I like thefact Gekko actually suggests a crappy old Heineken to LeBoeuf - thepoor kid doesn't even get to read a menu, or get the choice of a decentbeer! And then the brilliant shot of the bottle being plonked down!Hilarious. Sadly the rest of the film isn't so entertaining - a majordisappointment.

Tim Baker

(2012-04-29 03:18:40)

Big Disappointment

A dull, boring excuse for a movie. I watched it for free from BBexpress and it wasn't even worth the time... Oliver Stone has reducedhimself to trying to take a canned script, throwing in a pop star (ShiaLaBeouf) and selling it for a serious movie. This joke of a movie isthe pathetic result. Even from a pure entertainment value, the moviewas terrible - I've seriously had more entertainment getting my toothfilled at the dentists' office.I'm ashamed to say that once upon a time Oliver Stone was my favoritedirector/movie-maker. Not any more - he lost any respect with thismovie - this movie has NO SOUL. I normally don't take the time to evenrant, but I thought I'd save someone else from wasting their time likeI did.

merylmatt

(2012-04-28 06:54:32)

Mixed messages and Hollywood ending

Good points - Michael Douglas returns as greedy Gordon Geckko,**Spoilers ahead ** and the plot is laced with revenge, a lot of truthabout the problems & collapse Wall Street has had recently. There weresome special effects & cuts I enjoyed weaving in and out of the plotand there were elements of humor taking shot at the rich fat cats whomanipulate the market for profit. Charlie Sheen has a cameo playingBud, who helped put Gordo away....it's a stretch role for Charlieplaying a womanizing, boozing lazy rich person I know, but he somehowpulls it off.Bad points - how they got the main character (Jake played by ShiaDebouf) near Gekko - by dating his daughter. Mixed messages - is Gordostill motivated by greed, or does he want reconciliation with hisdaughter? She loves her daddy, she loves him not. She loves herfiancГѓВ©e, she loves him not.Major spoiler - after Gordo steals 100 million from her daughter, shereconciles with daddy and fiancГѓВ©es and the all live happily ever after.Cheesy ending. I think a grittier, more truthful ending would have madethis much more credible and hard hitting. Instead, Oliver Stone soldout for the easy ending.

Red Rat

(2012-04-27 18:19:34)

weaker than a 2009 US dollar bill

Wall Street 2 : Money Never Sleeps Oliver Stone's continuation of hisearlier work Wall Street. If you are like me, and have not seen thefirst film, fear not it makes no difference as there a few characterscarried across into the sequel and those which are, well you're veryquickly introduced to them.The main thread of this film is the sub prime stock market crash of2009 however there are several interlinking sub plots which run throughthe film. Firstly, Michael Douglas is investment banker Gordon Gekko,jailed, presumably at the end of the first film, and this vehiclebegins with his timely release just before the stock market crash ofrecent times. Secondly Shia LeBeouf is Jake Moore a young up and cominginvestment banker who's dating Douglas' daughter Winnie. Thirdly,Winnie And Douglas have not spoken in years and fourth, everyone in theinvestment banking world is ruthlessly trying to screw each other over.There's nothing new or inventive about any of this. The relationshipsbetween each of the characters are routine and could have come from anyone of a thousand film scripts. None of them are particularly deep orwell developed so it's hard to feel loathing for the bad guys orsympathy for those inadvertently caught up in the mess. There areseveral well know actors, Oliver Stone makes his customaryHitchcock-esquire cameo but no one stands out as being exceptional andthe entire film feels weak in all areas.One thing Stone does get across, with the occasional intimate close upof botox injected faces and cosmetic reconstruction or panning acrowded room and glimpses of decadence, is the sheer vulgarity of theexcessively wealthy. However, when it all comes crashing down little isdone by the director to show the calamity of the mess so many of thesepeople found themselves in, nor is there any attempt to show how theirjoyful games of pushing paper across desks and shouting figures acrossa trading floor affected the lives of millions.Wall Street 2 passes as a film, it's watchable but unremarkable andsadly Stone let a good opportunity to make something powerful and shoutloudly with a moral voice simply slip away.4/10

Dharmendra Singh

(2012-04-26 12:56:21)

The man you love to hate, but would love to be

1987 is remembered for the release of 'Wall Street', a tale ofcorruption, greed and scandal in the upper echelons of financialtrading in New York. In that film, a young whippersnapper, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), idolisesGordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a cruel, crooked investment bankerworth millions. Gekko likes Fox enough to employ him, but when Gekkoreneges on a deal including Fox's father, Fox exposes Gekko'sfraudulent transactions, causing him to be imprisoned. This sequel continues after Gekko's eight-year prison sentence. The kidthis time is Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf). Already a hugely successfulWall Street broker, Jake just happens to be dating Gekko's estrangeddaughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan). Gekko ekes out a living – actually lives quite well – by givinglectures in finance and predicting the global financial crisis. Itseems that prison has cured him of his ills; at least until he concoctsa wily plan to return to his former glory.Veteran director Oliver Stone directed both films and what superlativeachievements they are. Acute attention to the smallest details –recalling characters and events from the first film – creates animpressive synergy, which over a span of 23 years is all the morecommendable. Although both films contain plenty of stock market jargon which I maynever comprehend, the multiple narratives couldn't be easier to follow.The cinematography is skilfully executed (New York has never lookedmore majestic), and strong support is provided by such big-hitters asEli Wallach, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon and Josh Brolin. By rights, I should hate Gordon Gekko. We all should. He treats peoplelike commodities – either to use or to use up; he spits out piousplatitudes like a cobra spits out venom; and he famously believes that'greed is good'. He is the epitome of evil, the devil incarnate. But Idefy any-one to say that they are not seduced by him in some way.His character teaches us about human nature at its most bestial. Whoamong us has never flouted a precept to gain an advantage? No doubt ourtransgressions would count as mere peccadilloes compared with financialfraud, but the motive is much the same: deceit. In one way or another,we've all been Gordon Gekko at some stage; only we're so morallysuperior that we won't admit it.www.scottishreview.net

Leeonemil

(2012-04-26 01:34:38)

Easily surpassing expectations

My expectations going into the film were low after reading the reviewsby various posters. However, as we know these self proclaimed gurus areonly spouting off their over analyzing, assumption filled, inaccurateopinions. Therefore, the film came in much greater than expectationsjust like earnings from a stock does pushing it way to the upside. Thecasting is perfect with amazing film work and editing, another masterpiece by Oliver Stone to put in the vault. If you want to watch asatisfying sequel, this movie certainly fits the bill.From the filming to the story line, Money Never Sleeps is a highlyentertaining and thought provoking movie that I will definitely beadding to my DVD collection.

MichaelPG1977

(2012-04-25 01:25:57)

Great... Until The Third Act

I loved this movie until its final thirty minutes or so. During thosethirty minutes you realize that Stone and his team of writers weresearching desperately for a way to end the movie on a positive, hopefulnote. We are left to plod along with them on this implausible track.Also, during the ending Gekko's daughter's character consistency isshot to hell and she appears as venal as the characters against whomshe rails.Those moments are especially disappointing because I believed that thismovie had the potential to be Stone's best film ever. Carey Mulliganand Michael Douglas in particular delivered great performances. ShiaLebeouf is "good enough." The writing is fairly unpredictable theneverything seems to be tied into a nice bundle near the end. Theproblem was that Stone couldn't quite bring himself to put the bow onthat bundle. He wanted to add a bit of glitter to it, which seemedgaudy and completely out of place.Bottom line: if this movie had ended on a somewhat dark note it wouldhave reflected the reality of modern day Wall Street, and it would havemade for a tighter, better movie.It's worth watching, and if you liked the first Wall Street it probablywon't disappoint you. You might want to leave during its third act,though :)

valleyjohn

(2012-04-24 14:17:32)

One Question - Why cast Shia LaBeouf ?

I have no idea what makes the big movie studio's pick Shia LaBeouf tostar in their films. He's dull , he lacks any charisma whatsoever andhe's just does not have what it takes to become a big Hollywood star.To be fair to the man he does the best he can in Wall St: Money neversleeps but considering he's along side people like Michael Douglas ,Frank Lengella and Josh Brolin , he looks completely out of his depth.It does not help the fact that he looks like a geeky Jewish librarian.The film itself is not a total disaster.For the most part it'senjoyable if not a little too long. The story is pretty good and itties up quite well with the current economic situation but i did feelit lost it's way in the last third of the film. It's good to see GordonGekko back on our screen but we should have seen him ten years ago. I have no idea what makes the big movie studio's pick Shia LaBeouf tostar in their films. He's dull , he lacks any charisma whatsoever andhe's just does not have what it takes to become a big Hollywood star.To be fair to the man he does the best he can in Wall St: Money neversleeps but considering he's along side people like Michael Douglas ,Frank Lengella and Josh Brolin , he looks completely out of his depth.It does not help the fact that he looks like a geeky Jewish librarian.The film itself is not a total disaster.For the most part it'senjoyable if not a little too long. The story is pretty good and itties up quite well with the current economic situation but i did feelit lost it's way in the last third of the film. It's good to see GordonGekko back on our screen but we should have seen him ten years ago.

Michael_Elliott

(2012-04-19 20:11:01)

Strong Performances By No Real Bite

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) ** 1/2 (out of 4) I think the moral lesson of WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS is thatGordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) isn't the biggest thief in the world.This film picks up as Gekko is released from prison and we flashforward seven years when a young trader (Shia LaBeouf) shows up at aspeech he's giving and informs him that he's about to marry hisdaughter (Carey Mulligan). Gekko, who hasn't seen his daughter inyears, is interested in using the young guy to start up a relationshipwith his daughter but to also take down a Wall Street big wig (JoshBrolin). I think a lot of people were shocked when it was announcedthat Douglas and Stone were teaming up for a sequel to WALL STREETnearly twenty-five years after that said film and performance becameiconic. It took a lot of guts for them to try and update this story butI think in the end you can't help but call this a disappointmentconsidering all the talent involved. I think one of the biggestproblems is the screenplay, which just doesn't seem mean or toughenough. I never really got what it was trying to do. Were we suppose tobe looking at these traders as evil men? Were we suppose to be happythat these people are out there? Were we suppose to look up to someonelike Gekko who served more time in prison than a murderer would? I'mreally not sure what the screenplay was trying to get done here but itdid come as a minor shock to see Stone didn't have a hand in thewriting and this might explain why the film seems a little watered downand in the end it doesn't pack much of a bite. Douglas slips right backinto the role of Gekko but it's more than just a good performance. Theperformance is one I'd call more smart than good because you can reallylook at the character and see certain traits that we saw in 1987 but atthe same time you can tell how much wiser and older the guy is. Douglashas no problems getting into the part but he does more than just tryingto recapture the spirit of the previous film. Mulligan continues toimpress with an extremely strong performance and her scenes with herfather are quite touching. The love/hate between the father anddaughter take up a large portion of the running time and this isactually the best stuff in the film. Frank Langella doesn't appear thatoften in the film but when he's on he's extremely good. Brolin makesfor a great villain and Eli Wallach has some real fun and we even get afew nods to THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. We even have Susan Sarandonin a pretty good bit as well as a pretty fun cameo. Then, there'sLaBeouf. I know the Indiana Jones posse already have a hit out on theguy so I don't want to pile on too much but he's just not strong enoughto carry the film. Not once did I believe him as this hot shot butwhat's worse is that each time he's on screen with the other actors(which is a lot) he just seems so out of place. It's somewhat likelooking at a pool of Olympic swimmers and then there's someone in thebackground struggling to stay above water. He's not horrible but he'scertainly out of his league. Stone's direction isn't quite as flashy asthe first film but he holds everything together fairly well. Hecertainly has the father/daughter relationship going right just likethe first film did its father-son between the Sheen's. The problem isthe Wall Street stuff and the dealings with the banks. It just neverplayed out in the end and when you see that they spent $70 million onthis thing you can't help but think it caused the rather embarrassingand out of place ending.

Faizan

(2012-04-19 09:11:13)

"If you stop telling lies about me, I will stop telling the truth about you."

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps isn't the sharp, critical film that itsmakers want you to think of it as. The sequel to the supremelyinfluential, endlessly quotable original from the 80's is a dullwhimper about what triggered the present financial meltdown and thoughit's cut from the same cloth as the original, it possess all of thebark yet, sadly, none of the bite.Gordon Gekko is a name that defined an era. Played by Michael Douglastwenty three years ago, he reverberated in the minds of viewers as aruthless, amoral investor without a soul. Years later, the sequel findshim released after serving his prison sentence. Cut to seven yearsafter his release, and its 2008, the dawn of the financial crisis.Gekko is now known as a speaker publicly vilifying the notion of greedin corporate America while simultaneously, and some would reckon quiteironically, publicizing his book inspiringly titled "Is Greed Good". Aloner who travels in subways, he is estranged from his daughter Winnie(Carey Mulligan, androgynously unglamorous) who is engaged to a youngtrader named Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf). Jake bumps into Gekko at one ofhis speeches (the films finest scene) and the two form a mentor-protГѓВ©gГѓВ©relationship that irks Winnie but allows Jake to benefit by plottingrevenge from Bretton James (Josh Brolin, the films principle villain),suspected of being responsible for the suicide of Louis Zabel, a closefriend and confidant of Jake.If the film sounds like a mess of relationships, then it is. As muddledas Stone's own political activism it has no clarity on what its tryingto say. From trying to rationalize the reasons behind the market crashto the impulsive nature of human behaviour, it doesn't get eitherright. Not helping are the actors that Stone assembles. It's a mysteryto me why Shia LaBeouf is constantly being thrust down viewer throatsin film after film by studios convinced he is the next best thing. Heis not, and despite being dressed up in expensive designer garb, cannotpass off as being anything more convincing than a working intern. Hisrelationship with Gekko has none of the enticing quality that CharlieSheen's Bud Fox did and a cameo appearance by Sheen only underscoresthis disparity. Douglas himself has none of the limelight. He has somepowerful lines, but feels largely sidelined by therevenge/relationship/murder subplots and behaves uncharacteristically,especially in the very last scene (these were probably added as anafterthought). After showing some promise of returning to hisincendiary, often infuriating filmmaking style and point of view withhis previous film W, director Stone seems to have gone back to beingcomfortable working with drab studio approved material.Not only was the original Wall Street a tremendously entertaining film,but one that was blessed with the critical foresight of its maker. Thesequel partially entertains but does not have a new perspective. It isneither critical nor insightful and could have, with the same scriptand actors, been the work of a lesser director than Stone. The filmsthemes are also impersonal - none of the characters suffer directlyfrom the financial crisis the way they did in the original, they sufferfrom their own incompetent decision making, a sharp departure from howthe original handled and fused stock trading with personal loss andgain.

estebangonzalez10

(2012-04-11 18:32:12)

Prison has softened Gordon Gekko

¨So, does Blue Horseshoe still love Anacott Steel? ¨This quote was from Charlie Sheen's cameo in Oliver Stone's WallStreet: Money Never Sleeps, which only served as a reminder of how goodthe original film was and how distant the sequel is from it. The filmbegan with a lot of promise and I thought there was little anyone coulddo to mess it up considering Michael Douglas was back with one of hisbest roles as Gordon Gekko. The problem is that with time and life inprison Gekko has changed and he isn't that powerful person he once was.The major problem I had with this movie was the ending which I thoughtwas way too soft and it seemed as if Stone sold out to the typicalHollywood ending, which was nothing like the finale in the first part.However this isn't a bad movie, it just isn't as good as Wall Streetbecause Gekko isn't as bad a villain as he was in 1987. If you've seenthis and haven't seen the first film then make sure you do because Iguarantee you will enjoy Douglas's Oscar winning role as Gordon in thatmovie more than in this one. Oliver Stone is known for always bringingthe best out of his cast and this movie is no exception. I reallyenjoyed the supporting cast, especially Frank Langella, Josh Broslin,and Eli Wallach who were really great in every scene they were in. ShiaLaBeouf is no Charlie Sheen, but he wasn't bad in this film either, andone can say Carey Mulligan is a much better actress than what DarylHannah was in Wall Street. I know they are different characters, butthey are similar players in similar roles. The screenplay was writtenby Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff, but it wasn't as powerful as Weiser'soriginal screenplay.The movie begins in 2001 with Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) beingreleased from a long jail sentence. No one is there to pick him up andit is obvious that things have changed for him over the years. Themovie then jumps forward to 2008 and introduces us to Jacob Moore (ShiaLaBeouf), a young man who works at a banking institution named KellerZabel Investments and who is trying to raise money for a fusionresearch project. His boss is Lewis Zabel (Frank Langella) and he islike a father figure for him because he has taught him everything heknows about being a broker. Zabel gives Jacob a bonus for his work, butat the same time he seems depressed because the company has been losingmoney due to the financial crisis that has hit everyone. Jacob decidesto buy a nice ring with the money given to him and propose to hisbeautiful girlfriend Winnie (Carey Mulligan) who actually happens to beGordon's daughter who has broken all ties with her father after hisarrest that led to her brother's death from drug overdose. Gekko wrotea book during his time in jail and now he finds himself promoting itthroughout different colleges. Jacob goes to one of these lectures andtells Gordon that he is planning on marrying his daughter. They beginto hang out secretly and Gekko explains to Jacob what may have causedZabel to have recently committed suicide. He says that Bretton James(Josh Broslin), a successful broker, began rumors to hurt Zabel'scompany and benefit from its demise. Jacob swears he will get hisrevenge, but the question is whether his relationship with Gordon willaffect his relationship with Winnie, and whether or not he can actuallytrust him.Gordon Gekko was a true villain in the 80's although many peopleactually bought into his philosophy once the movie was released. Now acouple of decades later he is more of in a gray area. The true villainis Bretton James, and I thought that was one of the things that hurtthe film, because Gekko made a terrific villain and there was no needto soften him in this film. One of the best scenes in this movie is thelecture that he gives at Jacob's alma matter about the foreseeablefinancial crises. It was reminiscent of the speech he gave in the firstfilm about money and greed. That was the highlight of the film, whileon the downside you have the washed down Hollywood ending. The film hadthe potential to be a lot better than it actually was if it focusedmore on the economic aspect and less on the melodrama and relationshipsbetween Gordon and his daughter and Jacob with Winnie. This isn't a badmovie, but I still recommend the first one over this any day. One thingis certain, Michael Douglas won't win another Oscar for this version ofGekko.http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

ANGEL-S

(2012-04-11 07:38:36)

Perfect for experts in economy

First, I haven't seen original from 1987 yet, didn't realise this is asequel. Second, I am half through my "Broker course" at my university,by no means expert for high-level economy, this is only optionalsubject I simply picked. "Wall Street 2010" is one of severalobligatory movies we must see before final exam, which will have somequestions regarding key moments in those movies. So far, this washardest for me to understand and actually had to rewind some scenes onDVD to fully figure what is going on.This is a perfect film, acting is superb, high-budget production, andaddresses some key elements regarding 2008 economic crisis. It is notfor everyone, since it requires higher knowledge of the topicspresented in the film to be fully appreciated and understood. I have nodoubt this movie will acquire a cult status in the years and decades tofollow, despite low ratings in the opening year, jugging by 6.3 averageat present on IMDb.Perfect dialogues and metaphores of speculation bubbles and moralhazards, only one frame on Citibank banner was enough to completeintroductory scene. Artistic perfection!Young actors did astonishing effort to make characters believable, sowas performance of well established names like Michael Douglas.Absolute recommendation if you are into stock exchange movies.Acting: 10/10, Story 10/10, Factual accuracy 10/10

Michael Donelly

(2012-04-04 09:13:15)

Sadly, a wasted opportunity

Having waited impatiently over a year to see this film I found itdisappointing. I will tell you why.Firstly, Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas always said they were amazedthat Gordon Gekko was an inspiration for many a man to take up a job onWall Street. Gekko had been intended to be a repulsive characterrepresenting greed. The fact that he was, in fact so inspirational wasthe reason that Wall St was such a hit. In the new film Gekko'sedginess is gone. He seems almost human, and save a couple of goodlines, he is an inspiration for nobody. Second, The financial crisis has provided remarkable material thatcould have been made into a fast moving and exciting storyline similarto the first film. Instead Oliver Stone has chosen to tell a moraltale. The trouble is the character that Stone holds up as a helplessvictim deserved his fate and Gekko also makes a choice that issupposedly the moral one but he does it only because he can afford to.The message in the story? For me it's just that nobody knows what ismoral any more, not even people who make films about morality.Should you watch it? Yes, it's engaging and fun but don't expect thewheeling, dealing testosterone of the first film. This is a story aboutpeople, not deal making. It's just OK.

PWNYCNY

(2012-04-03 21:25:43)

Gekko as prophet. Wow, what a movie!

This movie is a searing indictment on the venality of financialinterests who almost destroyed the economy of the world in theirreckless and selfish quest to get rich quick - at everyone else'sexpense. What's worse, when the financial system started collapsing,the highest levels of the government panicked and, responding to scaretactics that were utterly transparent, caved in to demands that thegovernment fork over hundreds of billions of dollars of public money tobail out the system that the inside traders had ruined. The movieraises this question: what would have happened if the federalgovernment had flat out told the banks, "You're on you own." Would theatm's stopped spewing out money? Would the banks have closed? Or werethese alarmist predictions of doom just part of a transparent ploy onthe part of some to shake down the taxpayers? What a Gordon Gekko didin the 1980s would have attracted scant attention if done today. Then,it took inside trading, cleverly concealed, to gain unfair advantageand earn public scorn. Now, according to the movie, mere innuendo isenough to start a panic and destroy entire brokerage houses, leavingbehind the wreckage for the financial vultures to pick through atleisure. To knowingly disseminate false rumors in order to affecttrading is a federal offense, but one would never know it from watchingthis movie. Here, EVERYONE, including the good guy, is violating thelaw as brokers use the trading floor to settle personal scores. In onescene, the good guy spreads an untrue rumor which causes the bad guy tolose 142 million dollars. One hundred forty two million dollars ofcapital, money that could have been used to build a hospital, schools,day care centers, down the drain, vanished, gone forever! That iseconomic warfare of the lowest and nastiest variety. Yet, according tothis movie, that's business as usual and government regulators are nowhere to be found. It is as if those regulatory agencies don't evenexist. Wow, what a movie! One might say that it's just a movie, don'tread too much into it. Yet the events of 2008 did happen, so the movieis more than mere hyperbole. If anything, this movie probablyunderstates the extent of the damage done. Josh Brolin should benominated for an Academy Award for his outstanding performance as themost detestable white-collar snob since Cal Hockley in Titanic. AndMichael Douglas should be nominated for an award for best actor in amovie where the heel becomes a hero and the cynic becomes a sage.Banks and investment houses have a fiduciary responsibility tosafeguard the money entrusted to them by investors. It's not theirmoney. When this simple axiom is forgotten, then the problems start, asthis movie so aptly dramatizes. After watching this movie, one may think twice before investing moneyin the stock market. Not that this is a new story or should come as asurprise, but this movie drives home the point in a most unambiguousway. There is a legal term called fiduciary responsibility. That meanswhen party A invests money with party B, party B promises to manage themoney in the best interest of party A, and not to gamble with themoney. After all, it's not party B's money. As we all know by now, by2008 fiduciary responsibility had gone out the window, triggering ahuge financial meltdown that ultimately required unprecedented bailoutsby the government to keep the system from collapsing. What Gordon Gekkodid in the 1980s would be a mere sideshow compared to the tens ofbillions of dollars lost in risky and financially unsound investmentssince 2008. Gekko is no longer the bad guy, he is now a prophet, asage. His mantra has been transferred to an even more sinistercharacter, Bretton Wood, admirably played by Josh Brolin, who makesGekko look like Little Lord Fauntleroy at the piggy bank. The theatricsnotwithstanding, this movie conveys an unmistakable message: investorbeware - the money you invest is not secure. Unfortunately, historybears this out.

cmoitze

(2012-03-26 06:19:11)

Greed is not so good.

Surprisingly good movie. This is a different movie to it's predecessorwhich is refreshing. It questions the importance of materialism and theloneliness that can creep into a persons life without the support offamily and friends.Micheal Douglas portrays Gorden Gecko as a somewhat matured man,scarred by his years in prison and family dislocation. Shea Labeouf wasalso solid and believable in his role as Jake Moore, an extremelyambitious stock broker. There was an interesting contrast between hischaracter and his girlfriend, who was politically left wing.Probably not as dynamic as Wall Street, but, particularly towards theend, an emotionally rewarding movie that the viewer should enjoy.

loufalce

(2012-03-25 12:32:06)

Money Never Sleeps-But you Will

Its some 22 years later. Gordon Gekko is out of jail. Shia La Bouf{what a macho sounding name} is romancing his daughter, and Mr Greedbecomes La Bouf's mentor. Expensive looking but empty - and lethallyboring morality tale does nothing to build on its predecessor. Its astrictly by the numbers banality designed to cash in on one of the mostunlikable screen characters ever created. However, one can't really betoo surprised because nearly every successful movie ever made alwayshas the ineviatable sequel-even if it comes two decades after theoriginal.I really don't want to get on a rant here about leftistAmerica hating, Jew bashing, Iranian supporting and "Hitler was justmisunderstood" director Stone, but he is just another Hollywoodhypocrite who hates everything America represents- except for the moneyof course. In a year of CGI and 3D overkill, Money comes in as justanother faceless product. Douglas is OK and I honestly and sincerelyhope he recovers from his bout with cancer,but movie has nothing torecommend itself. They say that this year {2010} was one of the worstyears for American films. "Money" does nothing but confirm it. Andspeaking of money, don't waste it on this rubbish. The reviewer whosaid he saw some kid playing a game on his computer before the moviestarted probably had more fun doing that than watching this. Who canreally blame him? He realized that this movie was just another dud.Doyou really want to make Oliver Stone even richer than he already is? Ididn't think so.A despicable film from a despicable director.

edwbur

(2012-03-24 03:40:43)

much better than the first

this is one of the best movies of the year. its got a great cast, agreat story, and put some things that surprised you. i liked this moviebetter than the first movie because you saw a kinder and better side togekko than you did in the first one. what Gordon wants in this film toreconnect with his daughter after getting out of jail. Jake is gekkosdaughters fiancГѓВ©. Jake's shia labeouf. anyway there is another storygoing on also. there is this new guy named Breton James ( played byjosh brolin). and he is like the Gordon gekko from the first wallstreet.he puts the company Jake works for out of business and Jake'sfriend Louis zabel who also happens to own the company commits suicidebecause of it. thats how Gordon and Jake met. he wanted Gordon's helpand in return Gordon wanted Jake to help him reconnect with hisdaughter. i thought this movie was much much better than the first. ithought it was very good to bring back Charlie sheen's character budfox back in it to see whats happened to him even though he was only init for a few minutes. this was a pure classic and Michael Douglasshould get an Oscar for his role in this. either him or Colin Farrel.me personally would go with Michael Douglas if he even gets nominated.i hope does. anyway watch this movie. in fact get it on DVD you wontregret it.

MosH

(2012-03-24 01:14:10)

Wall Street : The Hollywood Story

We are all familiar of the events that have happened in the past fewyears at Wall Street. This movie directly put faces and stories on topalmost each of the events. There is the house flipping realtor, theBear Sterns character, the evil banker that's holding the economyhostage for bailout money and then there's Gordon Gecko. Gecko providestwo things to the movie; a soap opera family drama and a strong enoughpersonality to do the Wall Street talk opposite Jake, a young andhungry Wall Street guy.As a movie, it's a ride into the Wall Street world. None of it reallymakes any sense, actually. Like the hydrogen water researcher who needs100 million to finish his research but can only get funding from onesource. But, it's the atmosphere that perhaps counts and the atmosphereis great but it even sacrifices the plot to keep the atmosphere going.This is a movie made out of the events of the current economic crisisbut without a real story inside it. It feels stylish and seems to saysomething but we're not even quite sure what it is. Overall, it feels alittle vapid and disappointing.

David O'Brien

(2012-03-19 03:40:31)

A wonderful opportunity wasted

When I heard that Stone was filming a sequel to Wall Street, and thatthe subject matter would be based around the collapse of Lehmans andBear Stearns, I was very excited indeed. What an excellent opportunityfor a tense, clever financial melodrama, just like the original.Unfortunately, Stone sold out. He instead decided to provide a backstory around the daughter that Gekko left behind, and that a humaninterest tale would be sufficient. I was shocked when Gekko wept forhis past crimes. He came across as a wimp. This was not the way itshould have been. Gekko should instead have come out of jail all gunsblazing, behaving the same way that he did before he went in, and thencome a cropper as a result of the financial collapse. I am alsoappalled at the casting of Shia LaBeouf as a top stockbroker. Hedoesn't act convincingly at all. Josh Brolin has great screen presencebut he is cast in the role of a villain, with no decent lines ormaterial to get his teeth into. We don't get to see any shadowybusiness dealings that would give flesh to the premise that he is oneof the bad guys. Instead a very weak plot line has Frank Langella playa mentor of the LaBeouf character, who is betrayed by Brolin andcommits suicide. This becomes the basis for LaBeouf's revenge. Therevenge when it happens is not great. LaBeouf rats Brolin out to theauthorities for insider trading. Hardly The Sting. Also when Gekkofinally betrays his daughter, it doesn't convince either.The ending wasdisappointing, with it's Waltons sucrose sentimentality. This shoddysequel makes it hard to watch the original Wall Street now without abad taste in the mouth. One of the most objectionable scenes was theappearance of Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox, the playboy, with a model oneither arm, boasting about how much money he made when he sold Bluestarairlines, and completely betraying the important life lessons he haddiscovered by the end of the original film. Thanks for taking awrecking ball to my memories of your original Oscar winning film,Oliver. Please don't do any more sequels, or further destroy your CV.

scotthowe2001

(2012-03-18 14:21:23)

What were they thinking!?!?!

Unbelievable and disappointing. Seriously this was the most retardedover clichГѓВ©'d pile of garbage I have seen in a long time. I couldn'teven finish it it was so terrible. Seriously Shia "LaDouche" as an overpaid, under skilled, leftist proprietary trader was no comparison to amoney hungry Bud Fox. And his hippy liberal girlfriend, my god, CareyMulligan's garbage acting just heaped more onto this crap pile. Mostimportantly, how the hell did Michael Douglas agree to do this?! Has hesunk that low? The story line was just too god awful to give it achance. Gekko's should've been revised as a comeback story, not somelame patron to a young ignorant wannabe big shot who can't act forspit. I mean the only acting I could take seriously was Josh Brolin,and believe it or not Charlie Sheen which lasted all but 35 seconds.This didn't have to be like the first movie, but it should have been inthe same league, this was no where near it. I think it must be thecurse of Shia "LaDouche" ruining sequels ;)