--- title: "The Wolf of Wall Street: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-wolf-of-wall-street/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-wolf-of-wall-street" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 18 reviews: 15 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics respond warmly to The Wolf of Wall Street, with praise clustering around Scorsese’s comic energy and DiCaprio’s uninhibited performance as Belfort. The reviews repeatedly single out the physical comedy, large set-pieces and cast’s ability to sustain the frantic pace. Many see the vulgarity as central to a darkly funny account of greed, finding both fascination and disgust in the spectacle. DiCaprio’s command of broad comedy is a particular point of agreement. The spread is wide, however, and the chief dispute concerns whether the film exposes its characters’ appetites or indulges them. Even favourable reviews find the three-hour running time excessive, with some sequences becoming laboured. The New Yorker argues that the film captures Belfort’s vitality without endorsing his predatory world; Slant Magazine finds too little distance between the filmmaking and the sales pitch. Vulture dissents more sharply, finding the spectacle monotonous and lacking consequences. ## Empire — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2013. The critic calls it Scorsese's funniest and most focused film in a long time, with an untouchable, bravura performance from DiCaprio that makes the three-hour runtime fly by. It singles out the effortless comedy and the way the film holds a mirror to the audience and the fucked-up world we live in. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/wolf-wall-street-review/) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating A-. 24 December 2013. Scorsese turns the real-life tale into a flat-out comedy as boldly excessive as the lives it chronicles, his crassest, loudest and maybe funniest film; DiCaprio channels star power into the vacuous anti-hero with a performance that builds to intensity, and the film locates black absurd humor in fascination and disgust. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/martin-scorsese-tackles-excess-with-excess-in-the-wolf-1798179053) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2013. Scorsese's exuberant, hyper-energized film captures the vitality at the core of Belfort's predatory world without endorsing it. The movie stands as one of the director's most fully realized works thanks to its rhythmic swing and the cast's wild, exhilarating performances. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-wild-brilliant-wolf-of-wall-street) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2013. The critic praises it as Scorsese’s finest in 15 years and an audacious, riotous epic that forms a loose trilogy with GoodFellas and Casino, despite not quite matching those classics. It singles out DiCaprio’s magnetic, never-better performance and the film’s bold, broad screwball comedy about America then and now. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-wolf-of-wall-street-review/) ## Little White Lies — Calum Marsh Rating 3/4/5. The review describes it as a late-career dirty bomb that is licentious and hilarious in its essay on greed and excess. It highlights the film’s irreverent, dynamic quality and Scorsese’s adept handling of the sprawling material. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-wolf-of-wall-street) ## Radio Times — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). The review calls it an exhilarating story of decadence and debauchery with a charismatic DiCaprio performance. It singles out the black comedy tone and the cast’s ability to sustain the demented momentum. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-elv8rz/the-wolf-of-wall-street/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2014. The critic finds Martin Scorsese's film an exhilarating riot of bad taste and a sustained howl of depravity, though it lacks the subtlety and richness of the director's best work. He singles out the protagonist's complete lack of remorse and the film's comic energy for particular note. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/16/wolf-of-wall-street-review) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 4/5. 17 December 2013. The critic finds it the funniest film of Scorsese’s career, an epic farce that proves DiCaprio can do comedy. He singles out the big set-pieces and the film’s sheer vitality and entertainment value. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-wolf-of-wall-street) ## IndieWire — Anne Thompson Rating B. 17 December 2013. The film is Scorsese's craziest, a brazen three-hour cinematic bender of sex and drugs that ranks as the most robust DiCaprio-Scorsese teaming with ample terrain for Jonah Hill; it has demented vigor and gall but suffers from an overabundance of the qualities that elevate it. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/scorseses-the-wolf-of-wall-street-a-wild-drug-addled-tragicomedy-with-dicaprio-going-for-broke-review-and-roundup-194565/) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 May 2014. The critic describes the film as an exuberant celebration of villainy and immorality, with an extraordinary all-out performance from DiCaprio that commands the audience. It singles out the frenetic filth, kinetic filming and set-pieces while noting the film is too long and that Scorsese loves the debauchery too much. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-wolf-of-wall-street-film-review-9066279.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2013. The review sees it as Goodfellas without the guns, a luridly watchable dark comedy about American corruption in the world of stockbrokers. It notes the anger and ambiguity in Scorsese’s take on greed. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-wolf-of-wall-street/5064807.article) ## Variety — Scott Foundas Rating 7/10. 23 December 2013. Scorsese turns Belfort's tale into a big, unruly bacchanal held together by furious filmmaking energy and DiCaprio's electric star turn. The result is an amoral joyride that moves from amusement to outrage while trusting viewers to recoil from the greed on display. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/awards/wolf-of-wall-street-review-1200991188/) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2013. Scorsese's keyed-up irreverent tone frequently fails to distinguish itself from the characters' grunting arias, with slobbering enthusiasm confirming the hard sell, though the final shot indicts the audience's own eagerness for permission to freebase their ids. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-wolf-of-wall-street/) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2013. The film is an endurance test and thumpingly insipid, a three-hour orgy of immorality with monotonous effect that has no scope or consequences shown, as Scorsese empties out his head and pounds his chest in worship of indiscriminate masculine energy. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/12/movie-review-the-wolf-of-wall-street.html) ## Sight and Sound — Nick Pinkerton 17 January 2014. The critic calls the film a riot and a picaresque farce that illustrates the art of blowing stock-market bubbles. He singles out the physical comedy and DiCaprio’s performance for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-wolf-wall-street) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 17 December 2013. The critic finds the film madly entertaining moment-by-moment due to its live-wire energy, exuberant performances and the appeal of watching naughty behavior, while noting the dramatic strategy of titillating with excess before a moral message will divide audiences. DiCaprio delivers his largest and best screen performance. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/wolf-wall-street-film-review-665394/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic's Pick. 25 December 2013. Scorsese delivers a three-hour bacchanal of sex, drugs, and excess centered on Jordan Belfort that hums with vulgar energy and never flags. The film revels in the characters' appalling behavior while highlighting DiCaprio's charismatic, uninhibited lead performance. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/movies/dicaprio-stars-in-scorseses-the-wolf-of-wall-street.html) ## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie Rating 5/5. 18 December 2013. The critic praises Scorsese's intense, character-driven crime drama with DiCaprio's compelling performance as the driven Belfort, highlighting the black comedy and excess, but notes the long runtime makes some sequences laboured. They single out the sharp character study and mordant humour. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-wolf-of-wall-street-review-2/) ## The Wrap — Alonso Duralde Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2013. The critic calls the film a deliciously overstuffed and terrific movie that is fascinating despite overstaying its welcome. DiCaprio's electrifying, physical performance, especially in the extended Quaaludes sequence, is singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/wolf-wall-street-review-scorsese-dicaprio-nothing-exceeds-like-excess/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B-. 24 December 2013. The critic calls it a slam-dunk comedy driven by DiCaprio’s fearless, unhinged performance but notes that the film’s excessive runtime and focus on bacchanalia prevent Scorsese from forming a complete thesis on excess and capitalism, leaving an ambivalent tone. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-wolf-of-wall-street-review/) ## Eye for Film — Anne-Katrin Titze Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2014. Scorsese handcuffs the viewer to DiCaprio's Belfort in a spectacular morality play that piles excess upon excess without mercy or subtlety. The film highlights how the pursuit of wealth, drugs, and degradation destroys dignity, with standout performances like McConaughey and Hill amplifying the moral bankruptcy. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-wolf-of-wall-street-2013-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-wolf-of-wall-street.md