Nowhere close to Scorsese's best

Rating: 5/10 (1 March 2014)

A bit of an understatement, but it definitely has it's weak spots unlike the near masterpieces of the likes of Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino. "The Wolf of Wall Street" in a way, reminded me of Goodfellas and Scarface. Both stories about a man who rises to fame and fortune, only to fall by his own graces. But that is really the only comparison I can find between them. Other than that, all "The Wolf" is about is a drugged up stock broker named Jordan Belfort who inexplicably figures out how to make millions in the stock market, along with some other guys who pretty much also come out of nowhere. After one meeting with Matthew Mcconaughey's character, Jordan suddenly becomes a genius stock broker and drug addict. Jordan and his buds seem to be doing something illegal, and are being chased by an FBI agent, but it's never fully explained what exactly how are breaking the law. Basically, the movie is just complete style over substance. Though it was funny and Dicaprio was excellent, that was about all the movie had going for it. But either his character or any of the other ones gave us a reason for the audience to care about them. All they do is snort cocaine 24/7, have aimless sex, and somehow have no consequences. It's like a fantasy world where everybody is completely comfortable with this behavior. This could only happen in the movies. Basically the movie felt like an unrated version of The Great Gatsby, which also starred Dicaprio. That's probably the best way to summarize it.