SYNOPSIS:
Following a lengthy prison term, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) finds himself on the outside looking in at a world he once commanded. Hoping to repair his relationship with his daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), Gekko forges an alliance with her fiance, Jake (Shia LaBeouf). But Winnie and Jake learn the hard way that Gekko is still a master manipulator who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
MOVIE REVIEW:
We have never imagined what it would be like to be dressed in those sharp corporate suits, leading a wealthy life of a corporate raider. What do these people do anyway? They seem to be ever so suave with their nicely slicked back hair, crunching numbers and statistics, unscrupulously going about life to get what they want – and that probably includes expensive cars, mansions and more sharp corporate suits. One movie character who personifies this kind of lifestyle has to be Gordon Gekko from director Oliver Stone’s phenomenal 1987 movie Wall Street. If you grew up in the 1980s watching movies, then you would not be unfamiliar with the phrase “greed, for the lack of a better word, is good”.
Stone is back to educate the contemporary audiences with this sequel, with the gracefully aged Michael Douglas reprising his Oscar winning role of Gordon Gekko, and up and coming Shia LaBeouf as his son in law. How apt this casting choice is, considering how LaBeouf is a modern movie icon. This time, instead of running around with gigantic robots, he gets to don those sharp corporate suits as he learns a trick or two from his father in law.
The earnest looking teen star plays a young trader who agrees to a rather unethical proposal by Wall Street legend Gordon Gekko, with the objective of taking down a merciless finance executive. Along the way, the old man also gets to be reunited with the young man’s fiancée, who is his daughter.
Besides Douglas and LaBeouf, the supporting cast includes the elegant Carey Mulligan as a daughter who does not agree with her father’s unscrupulous ways, the capable Josh Brolin as the antagonist, the veteran Frank Langella as a fallen trader, as well as appearances by Susan Sarandon and Charlie Sheen. If you ask us, this is a god sent cast.
As talented as the actors are, there is something about this sequel which feels distant and remote. Maybe it is the technical jargon which does not interest mere mortals like us, or it may be the cold and unfeeling expressions put on by the characters most of the time. That is also why we felt most for Langella’s character as he decides that the overpowering stress is too much for him to take, and decides to take things into his own hands, resulting in a tragedy. This universal human element still strikes us as emotionally engaging.
However, it is with no doubt that Stone knows what he is doing, as he carefully directs each and every one of his actors to deliver commendable performances. LaBeouf passes off as the idealistic trader, Mulligan exudes charm to play her role, Brolin sneers his way through the 133 minute movie, and Douglas anchors it all with his deep and resonating voice. If there is a moral message in this movie that the filmmakers wanted to relay to today’s audiences, they have accomplished that, thanks to the sure handed performances by the cast. Although it does not shed new light on the corporate world (we can only gauge from the movies we watch because we are not from that world), it tells the familiar tale that, well, greed may be good, but there is a price to pay for the good things it brings along.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains a nine minute Gordon Gekko is Back where you get to see the following the “villain” has created, and hear film academics and the cast and crew of this sequel talk about the character. The Commentary by Director Oliver Stone is insightful as he talks about character developments and how production processes of this movie.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There is nothing to complain about the movie’s visual transfer. You can watch it in either English or Thai.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted
on 27 February 2011
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