Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Review)

When one contrasts the Oliver Stone of the 80’s and 90’s to the Oliver Stone of the 21^st century an interesting, and ultimately frustrating, dichotomy develops. Early in his career an Oliver Stone film was injected with such energy and vision that, good or bad, it always came out distinctive. Even mixed bags such as Natural Born Killers or thoroughly uncomfortable misfires like The Doors had risk going for them, and more often than not Stone would have something to say. Take, for instance, JFK, my favorite Stone film, which combines his vision and politics into one just about perfect filmmaking package.

However, the new millennium has found Stone wading comfortably in shallow waters, and his films have become increasingly bland. W. had some interesting moments and a whole lot of potential, but was buried by its lack of closure and hindsight, and World Trade Center can best be described as a neutered piece of work. However, the promise of a sequel to his 1987 hit Wall Street provided an opportunity for Stone to return to his roots, but while it begins with a certain promise, it ends with a whimper and continues Stone’s recent penchant for timidity.

Money Never Sleeps chronicles the recent economic struggles through the eyes of Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf), a young trader for a firm called Keller Zabel. After it collapses, Jake’s mentor Lewis Zabel (Frank Langella) commits suicide, and Jake plots revenge against those he feels are responsible for the firm’s collapse. Meanwhile, he is engaged to Winnie (Carey Mulligan), the daughter of infamous Wall Street icon Gordon Gekko. After a lecture, Jake is able to get Gekko’s attention, and they begin a relationship that begins friendly, but there are doubts as to Gekko’s real intentions.

Gordon Gekko, such a clearly-defined character in the original Wall Street, exists here only to undergo a massive personality change every five minutes, particularly towards the end. Michael Douglas is good and always watchable when given a character like this (he won an Academy Award his first time out as Gekko), but after a while it becomes apparent he is being manipulated for the purposes of the screenplay.

That being said, the first half or so of Money Never Sleeps had me intrigued and entertained, even if it was all a bit obvious. Stone has never been one for subtlety in symbolism, but when you have the camera following a bubble up in to the sky waiting for it to burst, I can do nothing but roll my eyes. Not to mention it’s a little baffling when the rest of the movie really doesn’t have a whole lot to say except that the economy is bad. Don’t be offended if my mind isn’t exactly blown.

I would be able to get past the lack of substance if the story were compelling, which creates a good premise but after a while realizes it’s stuck and decides to come in for a smooth, easily digested landing. Most of the movie does not take place in a bright, happy universe (which I liked because I’m that kind of person), so when the movie decides to take a 180 and put a pretty little bow on top I was a little infuriated. In the first film every action had consequences, but here it doesn’t matter because it will turn out alright.

The best part about Money Never Sleeps is the cast, all of whom make this film watchable even in its darkest hour. Shia LaBeouf has the potential to be great, but he needs to find a role he can sink his teeth into one of these days. Josh Brolin continues the string of great performances he’s put together as Bretton James, the man Moore blames for causing the suicide of Zabel. Zabel, as played by Frank Langella, provides the film’s most memorable character, and when he meets his fate it is genuinely affecting.

I am not averse to the idea of a second Wall Street movie. Nay, I think we need one. However, Money Never Sleeps is unable to reach the levels of importance it so badly needed to. While Stone did not write this film like he did the original, I think a lot of the fault needs to come back on him. There was a day when Stone made important, polarizing films that made powerful statements about the world we are living in, most of them not so glowing. I don’t think there will be much higher level discussion amongst audiences about our economy when walking out of the movie, and most of the debate will simply fall back on whether or not it was enjoyable. Eh… count me out.

Rating: (out of 4)