Money Never Sleeps

Money may never sleep, but I was damn close during this movie. Ever since I first heard about Oliver Stone doing a sequel, I was excited about the chance to see Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko back in action. Alas, just like many other sequels, it did not live up to the precedent set by its predecessor, nor the high expectations set by every fan of the original Wall Street. It was also about 30 minutes too long.

First, Shia LaBeouf? Really? They could not get any better actor than the guy from Transformers? I’ll give it to him that he was mildly believable, but I still can’t get the picture of him running around with giant robots out of my head. *tsk tsk*, Oliver Stone. Poor casting job.

Secondly, the overt references to Lehman, Goldman, Bernanke, et al. By trying to make it so similar to the players and events that actually occurred during the financial crisis, it honestly felt contrived - especially so soon after the events occurred. Given that I didn’t really live through the LBO boom and corporate raider phenomenon, I wonder if the original Wall Street seemed as contrived to people that truly experienced the 1980’s Wall Street? Moreover, the forced inclusion of Bud Fox was a travesty. Bud Fox should have either been a main character or not included at all. Regardless, the cameo was forced and there was not an ounce of chemistry or connection between Fox and Gekko like there rightfully should have been.

Third, and worst of all, Oliver Stone made Gekko cry. Let me repeat. He made Gekko cry. This is supposed to be a character with a heart of stone that would kill for a dollar. Although he was supposed to be the villain in the original Wall Street, he really was the hero to every guy in finance. Part of what made Gekko so great was that he was so twisted. He was everything a normal human being isn’t. He was the guy who didn’t care about humanity, who made gobs of money, who traded size, and got whatever he wanted. In short, he always won. Winners don't cry.

Despite the movie’s shortcomings, I will say that it did have a few highlights. For example, when Gekko is sitting in his new offices in London with his newly formed team and you see that he turned the expropriated $100mm into $1bn. That one minute scene was enough to change the course of the entire movie and put a smile on anyone’s face. Although we never knew how the original Wall Street ended up, we all knew that Gekko was doomed at the end of it. We then waited 23 years for our hero to dig himself out of his hole and rebound to the top again. In that moment when Gekko’s net worth hits 10 figs, the antagonist of both movies rose to become the protagonist for the second time, and it gave all Bay / Wall Street guys that rare feeling that compels our minds and drives our bodies on a daily basis. Not just the feeling of winning. The feeling of winning BIG. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Greed is still good.

The second best part of the movie was the wardrobe. The tailored suits were impeccable. See below for proof.