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Michael Douglas's ultra-aggressive Gordon Gekko is one of cinema's most enduring and unique tweeners - a professional wrestling term which applies to an ambiguous character who can be seen as either exemplifying good or evil depending on personal stance. Director Oliver Stone has stated on many occasions that the slick and worldly corporate raider is supposedly a villain, but multinationals still use the character's outstanding, and yet obviously untrue, "Greed is good" speech to motivate workers simply because of Douglas's excellent delivery and charm. Gekko represents the typical characteristics of a 1980s stockbroker: rapid-talking, braces-wearing, and constantly ruthless in the cutthroat world, always with unnerving directness. Consequently, due to the expert gusto Douglas lends to the role, it is unsurprising that the New Jersey-born actor won the Best Actor Academy Award for this, his most famous portrayal in which he accurately depicts the archetypical 1980s excess of the Financial District. Charlie Sheen's Bud Fox more than stands his own though against Douglas's prowess as he plays a young gun on Wall Street initially hoping for a quick few bucks until he learns how Gekko has become so successful so quickly. The unethical methods of his mentor present him with a conflicting view of how to gain affluence which makes for a gripping ride.
In a similar way to De Niro's A Bronx Tale (1993) our protagonist has two options: the blue-collar routine of his father (Martin Sheen has great chemistry with his real-life son) versus the illegal insider lifestyle of his guru. Both play on the mind of the protagonist until one way of life has to inevitably prevail. Oliver Stone does a fine job, from introducing us to the Manhattan skyline with Sinatra's cheery tone; he quickly switches to the melancholic world of greed, dishonest banking and corruption for a true contrast. Stone's father was a stockbroker on Wall Street and the Vietnam veteran uses that inspiration for this personal tale. The Scorsese protege explains superbly through his realistic camera techniques how riches can be made in the Big Apple just as quickly as they can be lost.
The extras
For a Special Edition Wall Street is fairly low on bonus material. The Oliver Stone commentary and the 45 minute documentary feature are both excellent, but when only two trailers are included for additional material on top of this solid foundation, Fox's release can be deemed as disappointing considering this is what one would normally expect from a standard DVD release.
The summary
Oliver Stone, Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen have done a sterling job of representing the heyday of the nouveau riche in a hugely engaging tale. You will end up heavily questioning the corrupted values of a system that worships profit at the cost of one's soul.
