The Movie
It's 2008 and the housing market is about to collapse. The notorious investor Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas, reprising his Oscar-winning role) is seven years out of the federal pen for his past misdeeds, his estranged daughter living with an idealistic young investment banker. And when the junior executive's prestigious firm is suddenly wrecked by a nefarious outside interest, personalities and egos are going to clash, fortunes will be made and lost, and vast amounts of power will shift.
This is the high-stakes world of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the long-promised sequel to Oliver Stone's Wall Street. These days, modern, soulless profiteers are grabbing billions of dollars, including vast bailout funds from the government, although these shenanigans too often leave working stiffs broke, or worse. We're left wondering not who the villain is, rather who's the worse bad guy, and can the lesser of two evils be redeemed?
The movie is an admirable return to form for Stone, flaunting much the same ambitious filmmaking style he showed 23 years ago, with a few new tricks thrown in. The financial world is not depicted quite as sexily as in the original, and the interspersion of personal drama and business intrigue leans dangerously close to a schmaltzy balance, without actually tipping over. This go-around is also somewhat preachy and heavy-handed, with images of... dominos toppling! Soap bubbles on the verge of bursting! Get it?
"Joe Lozito's review of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is good."
The Picture
The 2.35:1 image is detailed enough, albeit tainted with a bit of film grain and video noise. The bitrate is typically under 20 megabits per second, leading to some visible compression that adversely affects the appearance of out-of-focus foreground objects and certain backgrounds. I also noted video streaking in a couple of shots, while blacks are just so-so. Nothing to be ashamed of, but not a standout, either.
The Sound
A good deal of care was put into this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, starting with the myriad sounds of the city surrounding us, be it a motorcycle zipping by, an approaching siren, or one particular subway train that changes a character's life. There are crowded lecture halls, nightclubs and restaurants, along with surreal sonic moments that underscore Stone's aggressive visuals.
The Extras
Stone waxes as eloquently as ever in his latest director's commentary track, also hosting an informal 16-minute video roundtable (in HD) with stars Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan, Shia LaBeouf and Josh Brolin, who's quite the endearing smartass by the way. There's a series of five "Fox Movie Channel Presents..." mini-interviews, about five minutes each (in SD), in addition to the five-part "Money, Money, Money: The Rise and Fall of Wall Street" documentary (about 50 minutes, HD), spanning the worlds of cinema and big business.
The 15 deleted/extended scenes run close to half-an-hour total, packing optional Stone commentary. The Blu-ray is also BD-Live-enabled with Fox's Live Lookup during the movie and Live Extras, including exclusive online content. Disc Two delivers a Digital Copy of Money Never Sleeps for iTunes and Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
Prison has changed Gordon Gekko, and as a result we don't know quite what to expect from him, or from Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. I for one consider the movie, and the Blu-ray, a worthwhile investment of my evening.
Product Details
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