The Wolf of WS's Biggest Excess is the Film Length

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2014)

The excesses in the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, the true story of the wealthy stockbroker told in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street, is an essential element of this movie. However, the biggest sin of the filmmaker is that he stretches out of the debauchery, greed and decadence over a three-hour film that is ineffectively countered with only an infinitesimal amount of moral and rational content.
The acting of Leonardo DiCaprio is not in question here; nor, for that matter, are the performances of his supporting cast, most notably Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie, who play his business partner and second wife, respectively. Strong performances abound by those three actors and others as well in this cinematic effort. In the case of DiCaprio, one could argue that this could be one of the top movie portrayals of his career.
However, save for the very brief moralistic beginning of the Belfort character, the other 98 percent of the movie leaves you with a protagonist that offers nothing for viewers to root for, unless you are a fervent worshiper at the altars of Gordon Gekko (see Oliver's Stones' 1987 Wall Street), Hustler's Larry Flynt and the Allied Brotherhood of Drug Dealers Incorporated.
Yet, this is apparently the true-life story of Belfort. Thus with respect to his rise to making millions of dollars, all the drugs, sex and abject degenerate behavior that went with it, along with his eventual fall from the illicit pinnacle he built up for himself and his company, it is what it is.
However, when the audience is required to endure the long drawn out corruption and comeuppance without giving it any reason to care about the outcome of the arrogant central character, it makes for an unsatisfying cinema experience. Just a little bit of redeeming character (even if invented), such as that afforded to cocaine magnate Tony Montana (Al Pacino) in the 1983 Scarface, along with about 30-60 minutes of editing cuts would have made The Wolf of Wall Street a more enjoyable movie experience.