Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps is an interesting sequel that never quite gels as a drama in it's own right. It follows all the right sequel rules; follow similar characters dynamics as the original movie but give them a fresh twist, while setting it in a different time or location. So instead of Charlie Sheen's greedy hothead we get Shia LeBeuf's do-gooder. Instead of Sheen receiving the lesson in morality, it's Gekko himself who must reconsider his actions.
Wall Street 2 is also an opportunity for Stone to comment about the current state of the world, especially the Economic crash of 2008, and other issues like Banking conspiracies, environmental funding, media manipulation, and financial regulation...especially when compared to 1987, when the original film was set.
The cast are uniformly excellent, although the script never lets them be fully rounded, three dimensional characters. LeBeuf shows he's got the maturity to carry a non-action movie away from Bay and Spielberg, Carey Mulligan masters an American accent as we always knew she could and Josh Brolin plays grizzled and ruthless like he had Michael Ironside possessing him. Michael Douglas himself is a little more restrained as Gekko this time around, but slips back into top gear following a third act twist. Charlie Sheen pops up for a smarmy cameo half way through but it's ill judged and forced (thanks for that 20th Century Fox).
A nice addition to the original movie, but not essential. But well done to Stone for making a mainstream, commercial, studio drama in 2010...just like they used to in the old days.
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