---
title: "The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) review"
description: "I think The Wolf of Wall Street is running for the second most misunderstood film by illiterate film bros, right behind American Psycho."
url: https://www.joekarlsson.com/reviews/the-wolf-of-wall-street/
---

![A still from The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)](https://www.joekarlsson.com/images/reviews/the-wolf-of-wall-street/backdrop.webp)

# The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Oct 19, 2025 | Rated 4.5 out of 5 | Dir. Martin Scorsese | Rewatch

I think The Wolf of Wall Street is running for the second most misunderstood film by illiterate film bros, right behind American Psycho.

Right off the bat: I love this movie. I’ve probably seen it five times since it came out. I think it’s an incredibly cutting critique of greed, capitalism, and America. It’s hysterically funny consistently through the entire three-hour runtime, which is completely justified in my humble opinion. Star-making performance by Margot Robbie and an incredible performance by Leo.

Now, I kind of understand why film bros misunderstand this movie. Unlike American Psycho - where it’s completely insane that people idolize Patrick Bateman - this film does make the debauchery of Jordan Belfort seem super fun. He’s likable, he’s handsome, he has an incredibly lavish life. I get it. It is appealing.

But the film is clearly judging his behavior. He’s a bad man. The system he helped build is unethical and monstrous, and he deserves to be punished far more than he ever was. And goddamn, Leo’s portrayal of him is fucking hysterical.

Highly recommend if you hate capitalism.

Also, can I just say Scorsese still has the juice? Him making absolute bangers late in his career like Killers of the Flower Moon and this make it hard for me to want him to retire. If he’s gonna keep making shit like this, he can keep making movies forever in my opinion.

Also on [Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/joekarlsson/film/the-wolf-of-wall-street/)

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Karlsson

I write about my homelab, AI tools, databases, and the weird stuff I build on the side.

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