Nothing exceeds like excess - but where's the story?

Rating: 5/10 (2 March 2014)

Before starting this review I ticked the 'contains spoiler' box - but actually it's hard to give a spoiler for this film because there isn't really a plot to spoil.
The good things first - the acting is great, the sheer excess of greed is invigorating and memorable, there's great pace, a lot of humour, and the directing is assured.
That kept me engaged from start to finish. And usually a film that I'm happy to watch to the end gets a minimum of six stars.
But at the end of three hours, I felt a bit cheated. This film needed a plot. As it stands, the story is: self-assured character (Jordan) sets up a corrupt brokerage firm and gets rich, he can't cover his crimes successfully and the authorities send him to prison, then he becomes a motivational speaker. And that's it. This story is bulked out by great scenes, but scenes that don't give any depth to the film.
How could this have been a better film? There was a potential storyline in the treachery of his friend that leads to Jordan's imprisonment, but it's never explored. Or the resolutely incorruptible cop - he was an interesting character, an utter contrast to Jordan, but only appeared for a few minutes.
With nothing that would enable the characters to develop, this film ultimately failed to satisfy.