Wall Street (1987)

Michael Douglas was awarded the 1987 Oscar for Best Actor for his brilliant performance as Gordon Gekko, a financial wizard who lures an ambitious young stock broker, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) into the illegal, lucrative world of coporate espionage in this gripping morality tale about the American Dream gone wrong. For starters, the scripting is fantastic. Gordon's dialogue is just brilliant, especially the scene where Gordon gives a speech to an audience as other bankers criticise him. This scene contains one of my favourite film quotes of all time: "Greed.....For lack of a better word.....Is good" The cast are superb, in particular Michael Douglas, who indeed deserved his Oscar. He portrays the character with wit, charm and an attitude that only a businessman could have. Charlie Sheen is also brilliant, as is Martin Sheen, who plays Bud's Dad. Although it is only a small role, John C. McGinley is also pretty good. The only thing I generally dislike about the film was Daryl Hanna's character. I did not care for her in the slightest, not to mention that I don't think she's that good an actress. Daryl Hanna bored me and the money talk got a bit confusing, but neither of those pull Wall Street away from it's reputation as one of the greatest films of all time. 5 Stars.