Corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) lived by his infamous mantra, “Greed is good,” until he got busted for insider trading and served eight years in prison. Older, wiser and fresh out of the slammer, Gekko now asks the big question, “Is greed good?”
With the recent stock market crash and current recession, “Wall Street,” the 1987 film about corporate greed, becomes relevant again. In this sequel, young, gutsy stockbroker Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) is dating Gekko’s daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), who blames her father for her brother’s death. As Gekko attempts to re-enter the corporate world and Moore tries to climb the corporate ladder, the film shows that time, not money, is the strongest asset in life.
Gekko tones down his ruthless character and becomes human in his attempts to rekindle his relationship with his daughter. Charlie Sheen makes a brief appearance as Bud Fox, the then-young trader who burned him in the original film. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, director Oliver Stone and several CNBC anchors also have cameos.
Unless you saw the original film, followed the stock market crash or watch a lot of CNBC, this film is better suited for the over-30 crowd.
Hang on to your money and wait for this film on DVD. If you do decide to go see it in the theaters, it might be worth refreshing your memory by first watching the original on Netflix Instant Play.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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