WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
4 out of 5 stars


“it’s not about the money. it’s about the game.” - gordon gekko

the timing of this movie couldn’t have been any better! with a steep recession and a hurting economy RIGHT NOW, oliver stone chose the right time to film and release a movie about corporate greed and the volatile nature of the stock market. what better person defines corporate greed? that’s right...none other than gordon gekko, himself... ;)

the movie picks up right where we left off in the 80s. gordon gekko (michael douglas) is finally released from prison for insider trading and securities fraud, and he’s not happy... not even his own daughter winnie wants anything to do with him, and it hurts him tremendously since she’s all he’s got now. winnie (a boring carey mulligan) is engaged to jacob moore (shia labeouf), a smart stock broker working for keller zabel investments. jacob gets his bonus early from his boss/mentor lou zabel (a wonderful frank langella), and decides to buy winnie a gorgeous engagement ring from BVLGARI and invest the rest in KZI stock. too bad for him, the next day, KZI stock PLUMMETS, and it forces lou zabel to ask the u.s. treasury and fed reserve for a bailout in order to prevent bankruptcy. unfortunately, bretton james, a partner in another firm called churchill schwartz (josh brolin) puts the breaks on that, and forces lou to sell KZI to him for pennies. lou commits suicide the following day, and KZI becomes no more... however, jacob knows that there’s more to lou’s suicide, thus he enlists the help of gordon into finding out who bankrupted KZI in exchange for reconcile the past between gekko and his daughter...

even for someone who doesn’t read the wall street journal or knows the full story behind stocks and securities trading, this movie had sense and portrayed modern wall street well. oliver stone’s first film was an instant classic, and this one follows in that same direction. shia does a great job as street-smart jake, and has a passion for playing the market and fighting for his client, green energy. you also see how modern wall street is affected by media, esp. the internet, and it’s scary how one little white lie or rumor can cost a company MILLIONS. LOVED the charlie sheen cameo as bud fox from the first movie! but LOVED it even more when gekko becomes top dog on wall street again... he may be one greedy SOB, but even after 20 some years, he’s still got it! ;)