There is a scene from the original Wall Street, where Charlie Sheen–then a lean, darty version of broker hotshot Bud Fox–is making sushi in a New York high rise behind an operatic backdrop. Girlfriend Darien Taylor, played by a forgettable Daryl Hannah, serves up stilted, one-line dialogue while fumbling with ’80s inspired hors d’oeuvres for their evening dinner plans. In retrospect, the scene is a one-dimensional slice against Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” which packs a much more layered punch than its 1987 predecessor. And in an era that is undoubtedly filled with more distractions and technological complexities, it serves the movie right. The question is, does it make it a better film?
Wall Street 2.0 opens with fallen mogul Gordon Gekko exiting an eight-year prison sentence for insider trading and collecting possessions that once defined him. A gold watch, a monstrous mobile phone, an engraved ring–all of his belongings look and wilted and dated, much like Gekko himself. When he returns to the buzzing trenches of New York City, he finds a far different landscape than the one he left. Talk of sub-primes and hedge funds dominate The Street, along with a new network of financial impresarios that are seemingly shot in dark light throughout the entire movie. Leading the crew is Charles Schwartz investment firm front man Brentton James, played by a furrowed Josh Brolin. Unlike the slick-talking stride of Gekko, Brolin plays a much more subtle villain, engaging in calm, verbal sparring with enterprising broker Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf).
The characters and their alliances in this film, we learn, are tricky. LaBeouf, while outwardly appears to reprise the Bud Fox role, is more multi-dimensional than money hungry. Call it a reflection of the times. Unlike the gritty go-getter attitude audiences saw in Sheen, LaBeouf exudes a kind of idealism that has come to define the Millennial generation. Its members are eager, confident but also act in the vested interest of a greater good. LaBeouf openly talks about his need to achieve success the clean way–not through insider trading but through his own resourcefulness and ultimate greatness. He flaunts the equally clean concept of fusion technology in front of Chinese investors and trusts Brolin to take his well-plotted plan all the way to the bank.
But who can LaBeouf really trust? Upon hearing Gekko speak during a book promotion tour, he becomes instantly attracted to his reformed, matter-of-factness–especially in relation to money. “Jail certainly taught me a lot,” he tells LaBeouf over dinner at a Japanese restaurant. There is a muted sadness below his eyes, while problems simmer even deeper underneath. LaBeouf, we learn, is also dating Gekko’s estranged daughter Winnie, played by an often weepy Carrie Mulligan. Winnie resents her father, whose hunger for money landed him in jail, left her abandoned, and ultimately created more undo drama. Mulligan and LaBeouf exchange a series of tear-laden scenes, creating a new sheen of emotion absent from the first film. The relationship between the two is far more exploratory, if not sometimes tedious, than Sheen and Hannah’s, which served as a sideshow to Gekko and Sheen’s power plays.
In that respect, Stone turns out a more human follow-up to the overt brashness of his first film. But sometimes, a bit more grittiness could serve it well. The movie does a fantastic job centering on the modern financial upheavals, chronicling the chaos of Lehman Bros. weekend while referencing the first film through a series of stellar cameo appearances and some all-too-familiar camera work. David Byrne and Brian Eno’s musical score adds an element of retro-futurism, bringing chilling modernity to a complex web formed by four powerful characters that turn several twists all the way to the bank.
But it’s Douglas who still captivates as the focal point of the film, with his character portrayed in a more human light than ever before. No longer simply a slicked-hair, cigar smoking caricature of himself, Gekko is a shaggy, haunted man, mocked by an industry that once revered him. But Gekko is resourceful–and by the time he makes his on-screen exit, it seems “Money Never Sleeps” may be the most fitting title for Stone’s surprising sequel.
3.5 stars
