Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
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A reformed corporate raider attempts to repair his relationship with his estranged daughter amidst the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis.
The story
In 2001, former corporate raider Gordon Gekko is released from prison after serving time for insider trading and securities fraud. By 2008, Gekko has begun promoting his new book Is Greed Good?, warning about a possible 2008 financial crisis. His estranged daughter, Winnie, runs a small, non-profit news website and is dating Jacob "Jake" Moore, a top prop trader at Keller Zabel Investments (KZI). Jake has been raising money for a fusion research project. As the downturn predicted by Gekko begins, KZI's stock loses value, leading to a series of events that force Gekko and Jake into a complex arrangement to navigate the collapsing financial world.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2001, Gordon Gekko is released from prison for insider trading. By 2008, he warns of a looming financial crisis while his daughter Winnie, a news website owner, dates Jake Moore, a trader at Keller Zabel Investments (KZI). When KZI's stock crashes and its director, Louis Zabel, commits suicide, Jake and Gekko strike a deal: Jake helps reconcile Winnie and Gekko, while Gekko seeks to destroy Bretton James, the head of rival firm Churchill Schwartz. Jake illegally manipulates the market to impress James, who then hires him. Gekko eventually confronts James and meets his former protégé, Bud Fox. As the 2008 crisis accelerates, Jake helps his mother, Sylvia, with real estate. Gekko proposes using a $100 million trust for Winnie to fund fusion research, but he betrays them by fleeing with the money, causing Winnie to break up with Jake. Jake later pieces together James's shady dealings and gives the info to Winnie, who publishes it, leading to James's firing. Gekko's firm then partners with James's company. Finally, Gekko apologizes to Winnie and Jake, anonymously depositing $100 million into the fusion account, leading to a reconciliation one year later at the birthday party of Jake and Winnie's son.
- First release year
- 2010
- Runtime (minutes)
- 133
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Oliver Stone
- Writers
- Allan Loeb · writer; Stephen Schiff · writer
- Cast and characters
- Michael Douglas · Gordon Gekko; Shia LaBeouf · Jacob "Jake" Moore; Josh Brolin · Bretton James; Carey Mulligan · Winnie Gekko; Susan Sarandon · Sylvia Moore; Eli Wallach · Julius "Julie" Steinhardt; Frank Langella · Louis "Lou" Zabel; Charlie Sheen · Bud "Buddy" Fox
- Genres
- drama; Soundtracks
- Themes
- Greed; Financial Crisis; Family Reconciliation; Capitalism
- Tone and mood
- Melodramatic; Serious; Sophisticated
- Premise and plot tags
- Sequel; Financial Drama; Corporate Espionage
- Franchise connections
- Wall Street
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, though it was a box office success, topping the United States's ranking during its opening weekend.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 54% · review count: 234; Metacritic · score: 59 · scale: 100 · review count: 39
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled 'Money Never Sleeps' before being renamed 'Wall Street 2' and finally 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'.; The film features a deleted scene with Donald Trump.; The film was based in four locations: New York, London, the United Arab Emirates, and an Asian country.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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