WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (2010)

Directed By: Oliver Stone
Written By: Allen Loeb & Stephen Schiff
Based on Characters by: Stanley Meiser & Oliver Stone
Cinematography By: Rodrigo Prieto
Editor: David Brenner & Julie Monroe

Cast: Shia LeBouf, Michael Douglas, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Suasn Sarandon, Austin Pendleton, Vanessa Ferlito, Frank Langella, Jason Clarke, Eli Wallach
As the global economy teeters on the brink of disaster, a young Wall Street trader partners with disgraced former Wall Street corporate raider Gordon Gekko on a two-tiered mission: To alert the financial community to the coming doom, and to find out who was responsible for the death of the young trader's mentor.

What really is different from the original other then the passage of time is that it has a different tone. Where as the original was powerful as we watched these masters of the universe of finance make deals we only got a glimpse of what their fortunes bought them. We also were usually in offices and boardrooms so it was more claustrophobic as most of the action took place indoors. This film seems to go out of it’s way to show the toys and collections of the rich and it has so many cuts to show us the deals being done and what the news is saying half the time that it becomes distracting where the filmmakers seem to not trust the audience to understand what is going on. So they go overboard at times to explain it to us.

Shia Lebouf is ok I never had a problem with his acting and this is one of the few times that he seems rightly cast. Though on paper I wouldn’t have picked him for the role. Since his ascent into being an a-lister he has always seemed to be more of an actor who doesn’t rightly fit into any role naturally. Nor is he the first person you would think for most roles. He always seems to be the type that is third string. Like filmmakers and producers go through a list of bigger names and once they all turn down the role. They offer it to him and he just takes it. Carey Mulligan is in the film in a rather thankless role. That at times got annoying then finally had one emotional scene that’s old me on the need of her character as it was affecting. Michael Douglas Plays his academy Award winning role with relish. He plays the role like he is putting on a old glove that still fits perfectly. This time luckily we get to see the different sides and emotion of his character as he attempts a comeback in the business world. He’s not as cold and one dimensional. Here his character has complexities though we seem to know what he is thinking most of the time.

Watching this film it Doesn’t feel like an Oliver Stone film. It feels like the film could have been made by anyone. It feels and looks that basic. None of his touches or flourishes are here. This Film and also WORLD TRADE CENTER feel that way. I thought he was at least on the right path with W. It’s a shame as for a time he was one of the filmmakers who i got excited about when they had a new film. Now I feel he is so uncertain or I am about the quality of his films that I usually wait for Reviews and Dvd before I watch his newer films.

The film lacks the cutting edge and energy that usually accompany Oliver Stone films. His films aren’t as exciting. You barely even get to see the enjoyment that all this work affords them. Instead it focuses on the competition and the one up man ship of the work. It also involves too much family ties and personal problems, Basic melodrama instead of taking a look at how business and Wall Street works like the first film did. Which makes it a classic no matter how dated it can be. I was hoping this was a update and revisitation. Though really there was no need to make this film.

The film works and it’s script is ok, but it never feels like there is a reason why we need the story updated. It just feels like a way to make money. If the film felt more organic and had a story that felt it needed to be told I would enjoy the film. As it is now it plays and as double crosses happen and plans are made and executed. It feels not only predictable, but dull it never is as exciting as it could be.

It also softens a character that has been an icon in modern cinema of course it let’s the character do what he does best so we remember what made him great. Then takes the wind out of his sales at the end. While destroying out hopes of what we saw at the end of the original be destroyed in only a few minutes due to a certain cameo. That tries to make the dog eat dog nature of both films ring true. Then it goes for a certain softness once it finally makes it’s reigns. It might be because when the original came out the audience felt like they were getting a peek into a world they only heard about. So it was informative and shocking for us. Now with this film we know all about the subject and are not so surprised at the heights of greed and cruelty when it comes to big business and money.

GRADE: C+