Review of Wall Street (1987) by Stefan N — 12 Mar 2014

Oliver Stone made Platoon and Wall Street back to back which are two very similar films. Both star Charlie Sheen as the naive main character who is corrupted by a system and regurgitated by the same at the end.

Both involve a corrupt character whose performance contributes greatly to the film, and who gradually becomes the antagonist. Nevertheless, Wall Street is still an original film that can be entertaining even if deja-vu for some.

Oliver Stone directs sharply with the view of an innocent outsider; after all, his father worked on Wall Street. From the golden lens capturing the sunrise behind the bridge to the worm's eye view of the rushing workers who look like little ants collecting food for the anthill.

We meet Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) who is a largely unsuccessful broker on Wall Street who has to continuously borrow money from his father. John C. McGinley truly sells his performance pitching sales on the phone delivering signature Stone dialogue.

We first meed Gordan Gekko's voice, Fox's solution to becoming a successful and rich broker. Stone makes him an illusion like Fitzgerald did with Gatsby. When we finally get to meet the famous Gekko, Michael Fox soars delivering a true character performance that establishes Gekko as a classic fictional figure.

Douglas' may be Hollywood's finest actor if he was given similar roles that appreciated his talent - his stare is more powerful than all the weight loss in Hollywood. Stone should have won Best Director for this film; the amount of sheer research that is demonstrated in this film, and his bold casting decisions make a thoroughly entertaining film.

He is more interested in the commitment required to work on Wall Street than the corruption. Bud Fox could have been rich and famous, but he would never sleep, betray his family, and become a sort of gambler.

With Wall Street, Oliver Stone proves to be Hollywood's finest and most unique directors who can take difficult concepts and display them with realism and simplicity. As far as American classics go, this is it.