Review: Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps

When the supporting cast steals the star's thunder.

To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the original Wall Street film. It was well made and well acted, but just not the type of thing that would interest me. Which is why I was a little surprised to find myself anticipating it's long awaited sequel.

Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is released from prison is 2001 and is welcomed by nobody. 7 years later he's an author and catches the eye of Jake (Shia LaBeouf) a top broker at Zabel Investments and a protege of the owner; Lewis Zabel. (Frank Langella) Jake is also dating Gekko's estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) With Zabel's firm going under, and business man Bretton James (Josh Brolin) getting in the way. Jake, trying to "avenge" Zabel if you will, enlists the help of Gekko to bring down James. Not without some interesting trades of course. When Winnie eventually finds out about all of this, she's not a fan to say the least.

After watching this film I realized that I still really didn't care about Gordon Gekko, it was the supporting cast that drew me in. Brolin has been proving time and time again that he's a scene stealer every time he's on screen. He's no different here. Frank Langella, though his part is small is very interesting as well. I really enjoyed Winnie and Jake's story and the fact that Shia LaBeouf and Carey Mulligan are dating in real life really helps their characters here. You can tell they have instant chemistry and their fights are believable. Plus having watched LeBeof grow up from his "Even Stevens" days is always a joy. A lot of people rag on him, I've always found him very interesting.

I liked the film for the reasons the fans of the original did not. I enjoyed the supporting player's stories more than the main one. Douglas is still great as Gekko, don't get me wrong. I just find Brolin, LaBeouf and Mulligan more interesting.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "Every thief has an excuse.." - Jake Moore (Shia LeBeouf)