Film Review - The Wolf of Wall Street (2014)

The Wolf of Wall Street is directed by Martin Scorsese and is based off the book by Jordan Belfort who is also this film's main character and played by Leonardo DiCaprio as he rises to the top of Wall Street making millions in the process and attracting unwanted attention by the FBI in the process.

Going into this film I was optimistic but also nervous, optimistic in the sense that I was looking forward to it but nervous due to the bitter disappointment the new Jack Ryan film was for me, that said I kept thinking positive about it in the hope it might deliver the goods, did it do so?

Well yes and no I'm afraid to say, the more I've thought about this film since I saw it the more mixed I feel about it as a whole, before I go into that let me go into what I did like:

- The first of these is the humour, most of the film is very very funny and I sat there with a big smile on my face during those moments and in some cases laughing my head off.

- The second is the performances which this film is littered with, DiCaprio throws 110% into this role and he is just mesmerising everytime he's on screen, Margot Robbie will be on a lot of filmgoers watch list after this film as she is very good as well and nailing the US accent to a tee, Matthew McConaughey has a fun cameo though part of me wishes it were Robert De Niro in that role and I fucking loved Rob Reiner as Pops as well as seeing Joanna Lumley, Kyle Chandler and Jon Favreau in small roles.

- And lastly the film has great moments in it from the famous chest beating scene from the previews to the office scenes and the beautiful speeches DiCaprio gives which not so much channel Michael Douglas from Wall Street but reminded me more of Jack Nicholson when he played Jimmy Hoffa in Danny Devito's film from 1992.

However as amazing as this film's first two thirds are, the film starts to wobble big time in the 3rd act and it was here where I really began to feel the film's 3 hour length and that above all else is my principal problem with the film; It's just way too long and the film does not sustain or justify the length, if 15-20 minutes had been cut from this film it would've been a cracker and for my money, very hard for the rest of the year's films to top but alas I don't think that and the length sullies what is a very well made film.

And yet I don't think of it being in a negative way as it is the reason I feel so mixed about this film as the first two thirds are that good and I had such fun (R rated fun mind you) watching it that it feels like such a shame the third act nearly derails all of that good work but it doesn't enough for me to have that mixed reaction, maybe a 2nd showing of the film in the near future will be in order so I can gauge properly just how exactly I feel about this film.

As to wrap this up, I feel genuinely torn and split down the middle about the Wolf of Wall Street as the first two thirds of this film are amazing but the 3rd act makes you feel the 3 hour length and I wasn't as engaged during that part of the film but perhaps a 2nd showing might just might change that feeling but as for this first viewing I have to give this a 2 and a half out of 5.