Junior stockbroker is obsessed with forming a partnership with a ruthless Wall Street player, and learns a thing or two in the process. Classic urban drama perfectly captures the zeitgeist of 1980s excess. Director Oliver Stone’s intelligent script wisely simplifies stock market lingo in a way anyone can understand and highlights a fascinating relationship between Bud Fox and his business idol, Gordon Gekko . Michael Douglas’ portrayal of the corporate raider is so charismatic, something unexpected happens. He becomes a villain you admire as well as despise. It’s a masterful performance and one that rightly earned him the Oscar for Best Actor. He’s ably supported by star Charlie Sheen, a naïve go getter who gets caught up in the dizzying frenzy of buying and selling corporations to make a profit. His scenes with his father, Carl, fittingly played by his real-life father Martin Sheen, are also particularly affecting.
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4 Responses
Loved your review and agree with it almost completely.
Just watched this upon your recommendation and was thoroughly intrigued. I found the story a bit sentimental near the end, and I thought Charlie Sheen overacted quite a bit, but I was otherwise fascinated. I won’t expect much, but I am actually curious about the more recent sequel. Good review.
The sequel is not worth watching unless you feel the need to watch every movie Michael Douglas ever made.
All right. In that case, I’ll act as if it doesn’t even exist.