Director Oliver Stone had a clear message in his original film “Wall Street” – Greed is good. With his sequel, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” the message is unclear. Is it about the redemption of a villain? The importance of love and family? The sweetness of revenge? An attack on a financial system that has embraced the Greed is good mantra? Or is it about all of these with a hydrogen fusion infomercial thrown in for good measure? Stone’s biggest asset is Michael Douglas and his weakest link (besides the script) is Shia LaBeouf. Douglas is fun to watch as his Gordon Gekko, getting out of prison in 2001, decides to reinvent himself as a celebrity writer and wall-street analyst. Unfortunately, Gekko is gone from the screen for big chunks of the movie because the central character is a young hotshot trader named Jake Moore (LaBeouf), who just happens to live with Gekko’s estranged daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan, who’s not given enough to do). Director Stone has said the LaBeouf reminds him of a young Tom Cruise. Really? I don’t see the resemblance. And although Jake is supposed to be one tough guy, LaBeouf doesn’t have the acting chops to be convincing.
‘Money Never Sleep’s’ plot has Jake seeking out Gekko as a mentor after his original father figure, an old-school investment banker named Louis Zabel (Frank Langella) meets such an unfortunate end that Jake wants revenge. Gekko agrees, but he wants Jake to arrange a meeting with Winnie, who has no interest in letting her father back into her life. Jake is also busy trying to find funds for a hydrogen fusion enterprise and pacifying his spendthrift mother (Susan Sarandon) who has moved from nursing into real estate speculation. The villains include Josh Brolin’s Bretton James, an egocentric investment banker and his mentor, Julie Steinhardt, (94-yearold Eli Wallach), who makes eerie bird noises and talks about the Crash of ‘29. Although Stone has a knack for creating an atmosphere that manages to feel authentic, his story is so unfocused that you’re not really sure what he’s trying to say other than greed is not good. 9/24/10
1 comment:
In this case, I agree with the blogger, there is way too many plots in this ambitious film. I enjoyed the film and the acting was good, especially Josh Brolin who was excellent. I also thought that Michael Douglas did a good job.
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