Just in case you’re not familiar with Oliver Stone’s 1987 classic “Wall Street,” let’s get you caught up: Michael Douglas plays Gordon Gekko, a corporate raider who thrives on greed and takes a young stockbroker (Charlie Sheen) under his wing.
In “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” Gekko is back after doing a stint in jail for insider training and fraud. His daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) is engaged to Jacob (Shia LaBeouf), a young Wall Street trader. The film reflects our current flailing economy, and Jacob feels it is necessary to alert the financial community to all the problems. He’s also trying to figure out who is responsible for the suicide of his mentor Louis (Frank Langella).
It seems once again, Douglas is the shining star of the film as the smooth, charismatic and yet intimidating Gekko. Watch him challenge Jacob in the clip “Hard to Place” (Gekko: “A fisherman always sees another fisherman from far away”). In “Is Greed Good,” he’s cheeky while talking to a CNBC reporter about his book Is Greed Good?; he tells her that her show is a big hit with the guys “in the can.” And he doles out his wisdom to Jacob in the clip “Family Business.” Gekko calls money a “she” and Jacob says he’s never thought of money as a female before. Gekko says, “She lies every night in bed with you, looking at you, one eye open… Money never sleeps. And she’s jealous. And if you don’t pay close, close attention, you wake up in the morning and she might be gone forever.”
LaBeouf also looks like he gives a great performance as Jacob. Watch him tell his mother (Susan Sarandon) in “Get Another Job” that he can’t keep giving her money, and that he has his own problems. He’s heartbroken as Winnie tells him it’s “not about the money” and breaks up with him in “Not About the Money.”
With great casting and a storyline that unfortunately will most likely hit close to home, bank on “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” being a hit. Check it out in theaters on Sept. 14.
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Follow Amanda Koehler on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AEKoehler.
I have surprisingly never seen the original, going to have to watch it this week before attemting to see the new one. It looks good and intense, I hope its what fans of the originals are hoping for!
I hate to admit it, but I was kind of disappointed in this movie.