Over the Top and Repetitive...

Rating: 5/10 (7 January 2014)

The movie comes in its own, briefly, when the FBI agents visit the DiCaprio character on his boat. Until that point, the film is nothing more than regenerated scenes and dialogue from previous work we've all seen before, including but not limited to: Wall Street (Gecko speech, Bud- wannabees), Glengarry Glen Ross (Baldwin speech), Good Fellas (Liotta narrative, drug use and paranoia), Boiler Room (motivate the troops), Fear and Loathing (effects of drug use).
The film may appeal to Generation Y-bother, but for anyone that actually saw the aforementioned films when they were fresh, there's not much original meat on this turkey. Parts of the film look pulled from Porky's. Quite frankly, Scorsese should be admonished for ripping off so much of other people's material and style (unless, of course, his intent was to make a tribute film to finance and banking films as a genre).
I could care less for the portrayal of debauchery - I worked in a similar sector in the eighties and it was like that, although not nearly as amped- up as Scorcese may envision. There's nothing in this film that hasn't already been explored more coherently? The film will appeal - as evidenced by the early box-office - but how it benefited me as a viewer having already viewed the other films I listed, I don't know. As the police would say, 'nothing to see here, folks.'
DiCaprio's done far better work and if he picks up an Oscar for this, well, it'll be the Pacino / Scent of a Woman payoff.