Want to see a big bunch of beautiful, expensive earrings, all clipped to lovely ears, as a camera slowly closes in on each one? Go to "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."
Want to see long, gorgeous helicopter shots of Manhattan, spectacular work by Rodrigo Prieto, showing off the city as if it were those earrings? Go to "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."
Want to see spinning, speedy animation of charts and graphs and things, guaranteed to trigger that old adrenalin? Guess. You're right.
Want to see a movie that is not 40 minutes too long, or a movie with crisp dialogue and a pungent, realistic story that does not drip soap suds? Try another theater.
Oliver Stone's latest brought high hopes. After all, the original "Wall Street," 23 years ago, was a superb movie. But this sequel, with Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) leaving prison and trying to make a living, lays a bigger egg than Wall Street did in a famous Variety headline to announce the Great Depression. The father-daughter story is more old-fashioned than the cocktail that bears the name. Carey Mulligan, as Winnie Gekko, is rather colorless as she runs a left-leaning financial blog, won't even discuss the old man, even though she still carries his name. And oh, yes, in the rowdy display of over-priced earrings, guess who wears the simple, modest pearls?
Douglas is a splendid actor and he gives Gekko almost the same penetrating performance he did last time. There may be a sympathy Oscar on his mantel next spring
The third point of the triangle is Jacob Moore (Shia La Beouf), a young trader. He's her father all over again, rising rapidly toward his millionaire Merit Badge. He's not above adopting his own versions of the tricks of the traders, covering any obvious greed and/or illegality with a lot of financial double-talk about alternative energy sources, which sounds clean in today's climate. A scene of him in a meeting trying to sell some Chinese money men on an investment scheme is a beauty.
Lots of high finance and low skullduggery along the way, even a motorcycle race as Stone desperately seeks a way to extend the film's running time. Without a story, he turns to smoke and mirrors.
There are some fine moments; watching 94-year-old Eli Wallach is worth the price of admission, and Frank Langella, once so hot he almost scorched the film, is an actor with certainty and power. Speaking of sex symbols, Susan Sarandon, who left a trail of smoke as the sexiest woman ever in "Bull Durham," scores in a gorgeous piece of writing and acting as La Beouf's mother, a renegade real-estate dealer, and the veteran Sylvia Miles, also trying to get rich quickly, creates another delightfully nasty character.
Stone, whose direction certainly is flashy and attention-grabbing, also brings back memories of "All About Eve," in a few moments of screen action from Vanessa Ferlito as a young broker. She's bright-eyed and eager, watching and learning and preparing to lead the next generation.
But unfortunately, there's simply not enough story to justify much praise.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps at several theaters
—Joe