A Reel Review: WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

Once-controversial director Oliver Stone nearly returns to the form that earned him his rep, with his first sequel in the form of WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (or WS2 for this lazy blogger). It can be argued that Stone has been in watered-down mode in recent years; absent has been the style of drawing back the curtain on worlds usually hidden from mainstream audiences. With WS2, Stone brings back an iconic character and sets him in the backdrop of the current U.S. financial crisis. Throw in a new young gunslinger and few other storylines, and WS2 has a prime recipe for success.

As the U.S. and global economy leans over the cliff of doom, Jake (Shia LaBeof), a young Wall Street trader, secretly partners with somewhat-disgraced and former Wall Street juggernaut Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Jake is looking to marry Gekko’s daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan), while getting his up and coming green technology company up and running, and seek revenge upon Wall Street tycoon/raider Bretton James (Josh Brolin); whom he blames for running his old firm into the ground, and causing the death of his mentor Louis (Frank Langella).

Sound like a lot? It is. WS2 weaves a lot of storylines around each other, and while it seems like it would be messy, it’s not. Each storyline runs nicely along each other while not losing the overall focus of the story, which is the financial mess the world has found itself in. The backdrop is perfect for Gekko, who not only correctly predicts the looming disaster, but also manages to benefit from it (as only Gekko can). The storylines stay organized, engaging, and seldom let things get boring.

As with WS1, WS2 leans heavily on a lot of financial jargon that might as well be ancient Greek to the average movie-goer. Despite the thickne$$ of the dialogue, Stone still manages to create an atmosphere that the audience can identify with. Confusing dialogue or not, the viewer is always aware of when things are getting good, bad, or worse. Stone also returns to his talent of drawing back that aforementioned curtain. A lot of research obviously was done, as the film shows the closed-door meetings between the juggernaut banks debating the ins and outs of Government bailouts. Scary stuff all around.

Douglas steps right back into Gekko’s $900 shoes easily. He seems to get a lot of enjoyment out of the character, and it shows. Shia takes his game to another level, and nicely shows a young man under tremendous stress and pressure. The show is nearly stolen (again) by Brolin; who also seems to relish the thought of playing a diabolical character. Acting all around is solid, from young-uns like Carey to old vets in the form of Langella and Susan Sarandon.

The finale is a bit anti-climatic and predictable, although every character seems to get their due. The overall ending is a little bit too much on the happy side, which makes WS2 an almost-return-to-form for Stone, who still manages to knock it out of the park.

BOTTOM LINE: See it.