After the events of Wall Street, and many court battles, Gekko is sent away for quite some time. He finally gets out of prison in 2001 and spends the years leading up to Money Never Sleep's main story convincing everyone that he has turned over a new leaf while sentenced to observe the changes in our economy from behind bars. Now, Gekko spends his time promoting his book and lecturing about the disastrous direction the country has taken, namely the dozens of new types of credit that appeared and the fact that the banks have changed their roles to act more like hedge funds in order to get an even bigger piece of the pie. Gekko even warns his listeners of the impending stock collapse, an event that plays a pivotal role in this film.
Shia LaBeouf plays Jake Moore, a young, but very able, investment banker who has been serving his firm, Keller Zabel Investments, really well. He is apprenticing under the firm's head honcho, Louis Zabel (Frank Langella), he is on the fast track to some bigger positions and, oh yes, he is dating Gekko's daughter, Winnie Gekko (Carey Mulligan). Winnie herself is an interesting character in that she has essentially disowned her father and has gone so far as to start up a left-wing watchdog website essentially aimed at making sure people like Gekko don't take advantage of the system anymore.
When rumors appear out of the blue that send KZI's stock plummeting, Louis has to go and plead for a bailout. Bullied by rival bank, Churchill Schwartz, and its CEO Bretton James (Josh Brolin), Louis actually does the unthinkable and takes his own life. In the wake of his mentor's death, Jake not only connects with Gekko and starts to learn from the man, but he also takes a job at Churchill Schwartz with the hopes of finding a way to take revenge on Bretton since he believes Brolin's character is who started the rumors in order to allow Churchill Schwartz to buy out KZI cheaply.
The main thrust of the film focuses on Jake's attempt to get back at Bretton, while also getting to know Gekko without his now fiancee learning about the growing relationship between Jake and her estranged father. There is a side plot of Gekko attempting to reconnect with Winnie and earn her trust again, and while it seems unimportant and a little forced at the beginning, the events that lead up to the film's conclusion rely heavily on this side-story.
An interesting observation to point out is that, while Gekko was the main villain from the original film, his role is very different in Money Never Sleeps. Bretton is much more of an antagonist in this film and Gekko plays more of a side role to the Jake/Bretton confrontation. That isn't to say Gekko isn't important to the film or that he doesn't have a lot of screen time, he does, but he isn't nearly the driving force this time around.
In general, the acting is well done. Douglas seems to have no problems stepping back into one of his biggest roles, even though the character appears to have made some drastic personality changes (of course, whether or not he has changed is one of the recurring questions in the film), while Brolin takes on the role of the scheming bank CEO artfully. I enjoyed Mulligan as Winnie, but she didn't seem to be as strong as many of the other names in the film. The same can be said for LaBeouf, but to a lesser degree since he really seemed to throw himself at the role. It's obvious that drama isn't the genre he has the most practice in though.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps: Collector's Edition comes packed with a lot of extras that should keep anyone who has the slightest interest in both this film and the original entertained. Not only is there a collection of featurettes concerning the original movie and the decision to make a sequel, but there are also interviews with the five main actors about their characters. There is also a filmed conversation that Douglas, LaBeouf and Brolin have with Director Oliver Stone about the origins of the film and what inspired both Wall Streets.
While not directly tied to the movie, one of the more interesting featuretes in this Collector's Edition was a tour of the real Wall Street and surrounding areas of New York City. This featurette covers the history of the area starting with the Dutch traders who settled there, going to the first terrorist attack in the city when a carriage was loaded with dynamite and rigged to explode, killing many people and leaving scars on the buildings. This short segment is bound to intrigue any history buff who happens to get a hold of a copy of this film.
Since the film doesn't really have any special effects or awesome scenery that really benefit from the high definition treatment, there isn't really a major need to see Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps on Blu-ray. As it stands overall though, Money Never Sleeps is definitely worth watching. While I don't see it as becoming as iconic as the original, it has its points it is trying to get across and gives an interesting bit of insight into how the stock market is working these days, not to mention an idea of what goes on when a big bank needs bailing out. Also, it is interesting to note that it isn't really necessary to have seen the original film to know what's going on here. While Gekko is a returning character, any information you need to know gets talked about in Money Never Sleeps, and with the exception of the general situation that led to Gekko's imprisonment, Money Never Sleeps pretty much stands on its own.
Put simply, I would say that unless you are a big Wall Street fan, Money Never Sleeps is more of a rental than a purchase.
