‘Wall Street’ remake comparatively sub-par

Gordon Gekko is an American icon. He might not be a positive icon, but the fictional characters from director Oliver Stone's 1987 hit, "Wall Street," had an impact on both the American and international financial markets. Looking at the real Wall Street today, one might see a world far more depressing and greedy than was depicted in the Oscar-winning film.

It seems that those who watched Stone's 1987 social commentary the closest walked away misguided and attempting to emulate Gekko.

The world's modern financial woes are what make "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" possible. Stone wisely does not try to recreate or match the original - he would fail - but he does adequately shake a finger at the mindless risk of banks and investors, tastefully observing a tested romance and returning to us the master of manipulation.

The film, which takes place in 2008, focuses most of its screen time on Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf), an ambitious young trader, who starts out at prestigious investment house Keller Zabel. His mentor and boss, Louis Zabel (Frank Langella), is treading water as the victim of a false rumor about his company's stability.

Before Moore can grasp the reality of Zabel's bankruptcy misfortune, the Federal Reserve refuses to bail them out, and Keller Zabel is bought for next to nothing by another investment house. Embarrassed and ruined, Zabel wakes up one morning, heads to the subway and jumps in front of an oncoming train. Emotionally devastated, Jake wants revenge against the man responsible for the deadly rumor, billionaire trader Bretton James (Josh Brolin in a terrifically slimy performance). Fortunately, his fiancé Winnie (Carey Mulligan) happens to be the daughter of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), so payback runs in the family.

Ignoring the warnings of Winnie, Jake seeks the advice and counsel of her father, who has a similar hatred of James and a determination to win back his daughter's love. From this point, the audience watches Jake attempt to outsmart his enemy while fighting to stay afloat in a personal relationship that is increasingly strained as money becomes more important and Gekko gets closer.

The character of Jake is all too familiar to fans of the original film, as his similarity to "Wall Street" protagonist Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen) is uncanny. Although LaBeouf is effective in the role, the unoriginal character development earns Stone a negative mark.

Another of the movie's weak points is the countless number of references to Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and the greed of lower Manhattan. Most of the audience knows about these famous banks and understands the story's underlying theme after two hours of the original film and only 20 minutes of this sequel. There is no need to repeat it like a broken record.

Poor choices in certain cinematic elements and visual metaphors do not help, either. Strange moments, like when the camera focuses in on a man in the background behind James near the end of the movie, serve no purpose, while the use of actual bubbles to represent the industry crises or skyscrapers as financial graphs with red arrows depicting the market's rises and falls are not clever … just cheap.

What does work alongside the solid story and inner struggles faced by Jake and, eventually, Gekko, are the performances. Not to be outdone by LaBeouf and Brolin, Mulligan once again proves her acting worth as a tortured fiancé and daughter, suffering at the hands of Wall Street. Acting veteran Langella gives an award-worthy cameo as the aging and vulnerable Louis Zabel.

Knowledgeable viewers also should enjoy the many inside jokes to both the performers and the 1987 picture which are subtly placed throughout the film. For example, Jake's ringtone is that of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Look for the film's connection to that 1966 classic.

Of course, this film belongs to Michael Douglas, who, like his character, is an American icon. Douglas' transformation into Gekko is awesome and eerie. Gekko's evolution from 1987 to 2008 is significant. Eight years in prison and the loss of family seems to reveal his humanity.

In the end, although Gordon Gekko's redemption remains uncertain, Douglas' strength and brilliance serves as a sure thing.