Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps

Oliver Stone’s 1987 Wall Street was a scathing satire on the greed of corporate America fuelled by Reagan’s Free Market initiative. Therefore, with the banking crisis in the last few years, Stone has found the perfect time to release Wall Street 2. Stone, renowned for tackling difficult subjects his ballsy direction and biting scripts, has sadly fallen flat here.

A film about one of the most talked about issues right now in the world, the economic crash, should be exciting, revealing and easy for a director to capitalise on. It’s got twists and secrets that are just begging to be exaggerated and revealed on the big screen. Plus with Gordon Gekko in tow, the greasiest stockbroker of all time, this should be an enthralling watch. However, Wall Street 2 is just a tepid and boring affair.

The main blame must be pointed at the actors and Stone’s script. Douglas, reprieving his best remembered role, seems out of touch with who Gekko is and it’s only due to his natural charisma that our interest remains in him. He underplays it to the extreme and at times looks plain bored. However, I fear that Stone’s script has a hand in Gekko’s weaker portrayal in this film than its predecessor. Stone over emphasises the fact that Gekko was away for a long time and develops the character no further than that.

Instead, Stone seems to rely upon previous memories/ideas surrounding Gekko and places all his effort into boosting Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf). LaBeouf does not exude the same charisma as Charlie Sheen in the first Wall Street thus meaning it is harder to care and rout for our protagonist through his moral turmoil and hardship. Again, he is crippled by Stone’s script which does not allow LaBeouf to play around much with his role. Brolin, Wallach and especially Langella provide good support with Langella standing out by adding a much needed passion and personality to his role. Sadly, the rest of the film could not follow Langella’s lead.

Although Stone’s script is stoic at times, his ability to handle boardroom drama increase tension and interest levels making the film a much more enjoyable watch. Indeed, the scene involving discussions over the future of Langella’s company is by far the best scene in the film. Well-acted, well-shot and interesting. The problem with Wall Street 2 is that there is no excitement and there are no stick-out moments, and scenes turn into a procession of economic jargon and boredom. In fairness, the script allows new comers to come enjoy the bright lights and extensive economic terms.

Nevertheless, the ending is horrifically clichéd and makes one cringe at how saccharine it is and sums up the pointlessness of the film. As shown by Alex Gibney’s documentary, Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room, tales of deception, lies and economic failure can be astounding and shocking; however, with Wall Street 2 the plot takes us nowhere and with such a brilliant ensemble in his hands, it’s bewildering how he missed this golden opportunity.

2/5