NEWS JUNKIE POST
Sep 25, 2010 at 8:57 pm‘Wall Street’ Sequel Yields More Swagger Than Substance
Watching Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is like peering into my portfolio the last few years: it has its ups and downs, and never quite lives up to its glorious hype. It’s not a bad movie, but it can’t match the iconic 1987 original. So if you were hoping for a substantive film about the recent market meltdowns and the shifting cultural paradigms, you’d be better off watching Michael Moore’s piercingly funny documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story.” But if you’re up for it, you’ll enjoy an old-fashioned fast-paced Hollywood movie interpretation. In other words, the “Wall Street ” sequel is a good popcorn flick.
Gordon Gekko ( Michael Douglas, reprising his Oscar winning role) is back on the scene, released from prison after an eight year stint and making ends meet hawking his book “Is Greed Still Good? ” on the lecture circuit. Shia LaBeouf plays the young foil, Jacob Moore, an earnest, yet cocky motorcycle riding energy investment analyst. It’s a safe bet his prep included watching “Top Gun” and “All the Right Moves,” as he struts around with Tom Cruise’s alluring ’80′s swagger. The guy also happens to be living with Gekko’s estranged daughter ( Carey Mulligan, making the best of a woefully underwritten role). Wanting nothing to do with daddy, she has distanced herself so far from his world she runs a very non- profit left leaning web site. Oh, but wait, she’s involved with a man who shares the old man’s profession and ambition. Whether the young hot shot will resort to Gekko’s unscrupulous tactics as payback against another Wall Street warrior (Josh Brolin,delicious in a smarmy turn) who undermined the young gun’s mentor, Frank Langella ( brilliant, in a brief role) floats around like the smell of unearned bonus money.
For starters Gekko wants back in with his daughter, and Michael Douglas hits the right notes: contrition tempered with arrogance and bitterness. There are some powerful moments of regret. Any casual tabloid observer will be moved by Gekko’s sorrowful lament over his son’s losing battle with addiction. But I actually found Douglas–who’s gotten better with age–more convincing in last summer’s indie sleeper “Solitary Man.” There he also plays a disgraced businessman on the rebound, but while that certainly isn’t a perfect film either, the transformation is more heartfelt.
The “Wall Street” pace is brisk, the visuals are blockbuster big, and the soundtrack punctuated by David Byrne’s ironic signature wailing gives the film an ’80′s “Wild Life” feel. But the Allan Loeb-Stephen Schiff script –heavy on plot and light on character development–leads us astray as cliches pile up like Michael Milken’s leftover junk bonds. The young Turk avenging the old master, the disgraced dad currying favor with his lost daughter, the whole world crashing down as the prosperity bubble bursts. Revenge and redemption are among the film’s big themes, but they are so broadly sketched they don’t leave their intended impact.
Moore’s mom–a nurse turned over-extended real estate speculator even gets in on the played-out act. Here Susan Sarandon ( who also played Douglas’ ex-wife in “Solitary Man“) offers one of the film’s best performances, infusing the role with just the right shadings of panic, desperation and denial. Although she remains one of the most captivating contemporary screen presences, Sarandon, like so many actresses of a certain age, has been relegated to supporting roles.
Legendary character actor Eli Wallach makes a insidious and comic turn, Stone pops up in a few scenes, and Charlie Sheen returns with a wink as Gekko’s original “Wall Street” nemesis Bud Fox. And a parade of CNBC pundits serve as the cable-era Greek chorus, predicting gloom and doom, proclaiming financial disaster at every available turn. The only one missing from the mayhem is Donald Trump. The brash real estate mogul’s slated cameo wound up on the cutting room floor. (Stone to Trump: “You’re Fired).
Lines like “Stop telling lies about me and I’ll stop telling the truth about you” and “You’re the NINJA generation–no income, no job, no assets,” are clever but it’s doubtful they will cling to the cultural lexicon like the original’s “greed is good” mantra.
Making serious sequels is not for sissies. Few can match the original, even fewer (as in maybe only “The Godfather Part II“) actually surpass it. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” doesn’t even come close, but it’s not a complete bust. Just don’t expect a film in Stone’s grand and sweeping tradition of the original “Wall Street,” “Platoon,” “JFK, ” or even “Nixon.” What you’ll discover is a movie more akin to “W.” Had Stone allowed the Bush era to ferment for five or ten years, he may have emerged with a more significant film. And had he waited for the scope of our current cultural shifts to reverberate for a while, he may have created yet another masterpiece.
Instead, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” yields dividends that are entertaining but diminished.
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Fast-paced? Not the movie I saw.
Pity as it could really have been a great story too. I read another review where the daughter got canned.
Guess the movie industry should learn to leave well enough alone. This is what happens with most sequels – not as good (with rare exceptions) as the original. The same with remakes of great movies. Thanks for the review though……….
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