Review of Wall Street (1987) by Simon H — 26 Jul 2014

Wall Street is a difficult film to share an opinion on. It is not a bad film. The lead characters are cast well and Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen work well together. It would have been interesting to see what kind of future career Sheen could have had if he didn't have his personal problems later in life. It is also fun to see Martin Sheen turn up as the father of Charlie Sheen's characters. It adds that nice extra layer when seeing the two characters interact together. The direction is top notch too with some good editing. I personally liked the idea of the split screens showing a number of scenes at once responding to the same situation.

The problem with Wall Street would not be there for everyone who watches it. Wall Street does have a very specific topic it addresses. It might sound harsh to say, but if you have absolutely no interest in stockbroking and the stock exchange then I would suggest avoiding this film altogether. Unless your a major fan of Douglas or Sheen then you may be able to tolerate it. It's not the most exciting topic and if your like me and have no interest, then all the talk will fly straight over your head. There were scenes of characters talking with me being completely clueless on what was being said. Because of this lack of interest, I found myself viewing 2 hours of dull and boring money talk.

My rating does not represent the overall film. It's made well and should be recognised for it, however it is only really there for a particular audience. A score right down the middle means that you will either enjoy it or dislike it depending on where you stand with your money.