Wall Street

Michael Douglas. He makes this special. Otherwise it’s just a classic story about how the apprentice made it to the top and challenges his master to a duel. But this time the setting is speculation on the stock market. Charlie Sheen is also great here. "Greed ... has marked the upward surge of mankind…" (01/29/2010)

Good movie. A nice example of how capitalism infiltrates our nature and how it can destroy us. How we chase money without actually having a proper goal and without perceiving what is actually right and what is wrong. The actors in their roles are excellent and precise; it's a shame that Charlie didn't have more luck and more similar films. Although in his case, it wasn't just luck. (06/21/2017)

I returned to one of Stone's famous titles, Wall Street, a decade later, and I must say that, unlike many works of that time, this film has not aged. It is still a very solid view of the functioning of the harsh world of business and the era of consumer gluttony of the 80s, which gave birth to the yuppie generation. The performances are convincing, although I must admit that Michael Douglas steals the show, while Charlie Sheen has, in my opinion, only one crucial role to his credit, that being the main role in Platoon. Oliver Stone embodied his lifelong leftist conviction in the film, so especially in the second half, several dialogues slip into a political proclamation in terms of accusing capitalism, but that is just a minor flaw in an otherwise well-directed and well-written film. Unlike Michael Moore, Stone does not slide into any cheap propaganda, and everything he narrates has an absolutely realistic image in real economic and political scandals, which are ultimately described in a series of other films. By coincidence, a few years ago, the FBI focused on leading stock market players, and wiretapping respected investors and businessmen revealed exactly the same practices that Stone accurately described decades ago, such as the abuse of exclusive information, pension fund looting due to hostile takeovers, etc. Overall impression: 80%. (10/06/2011)

I am about as familiar with stock market events, selling, buying, rising or falling stock prices as a chamois is with driving a steam locomotive. And that's probably why I didn't really enjoy Wall Street, since I had absolutely no idea what was going on during many of the scenes. Fortunately, the basic story was understandable despite this fact, the actors were excellent and Oliver Stone managed to produce a number of memorable scenes (the arrest was the best in my view). Wall Street isn't one of his best films, but it's certainly one of his very good ones. (02/03/2014)

I can't help but feel that Stone's functioning morality had a much greater impact at the time of its creation and that it has aged too much over the past twenty years. However, its atmosphere cannot be denied, as the director actively draws the viewer into the sweaty and nervous world of brokers, even though he doesn't bother explaining or even hinting at its rules. The main weakness is the script, which even a slightly attentive viewer can easily see through from the beginning, and the development of characters and plot doesn't require much effort. On the other hand, the main acting duo is a strong point. It's not surprising that Douglas delivers an Oscar-worthy performance, but Charlie Sheen's determined character, setting a devilish pace, is truly breathtaking. You can find life truths in this film, but it's up to each viewer to judge whether they want them served so clearly. (01/27/2007)