Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps (2010)

The idea of creating a sequel to a classic from the 1980's seems to be all the rage at the moment. But when it comes to making a sequel to one of the best films of the 80's, Wall Street (1987, Oliver Stone), it seems like a daunting challenge. However, Oliver Stone manages to pull it off...Barely. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps takes place 16 years after the original, with only returning character, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) being released from prison after the events of the first film (Watch the first Wall Street film to be up to speed). The film then jumps forward 7 years to 2008, right before the infamous financial crisis, where Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf), who happens to coincidently dating Gekko’s estranged daughter, is working as a proprietary trader at ‘Keller Zabel Enterprises’ while trying to raise money for a fusion research project. However, things end up going sideways and Moore ends up meeting with Gekko himself after a lecture, and things start to go wrong... Bringing back Michael Douglas was a dangerous move, but it pays off, as he gives the best performance of the film, playing a shadow of his character’s former self, and Shia LaBeouf also gives a rather divided performance, which some people will see as great and believable, but some may see as dull and predictable. And this leads to the film’s biggest problem: Did this film really need to be made? The original film seemed to wrap things up very well, and a sequel wasn’t really needed. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad film, it’s definitely worth watching, but those who saw the original may be disappointed, or not. I’m personally looking forward to Wall Street 3 in the 2020’s...