A Look Back at Michael Douglas' Best Roles

From thrillers like "Basic Instinct" and "Fatal Attraction" to comedies such as "Romancing the Stone" and "The War of the Roses," Michael Douglas has starred in some of the most iconic movies of this generation.

And this Friday, one of his most famous characters, Gordon Gekko, will be back on the silver screen in the highly anticipated sequel "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."

Michael Douglas "Determined" at Premiere
Pictures: "Wall Street" Premiere
Pictures: Celeb Families
Pictures: Michael Douglas
Pictures: Catherine Zeta-Jones
Pictures: The Films of Oliver Stone

Dalton Ross, assistant managing editor of Entertainment Weekly, sat down with "The Early Show" anchors for a look some of their all-time favorite Michael Douglas films. But first they talked about the sequel and what it could mean for Douglas.

Ross said the movie is a draw for several reasons.

He said, "First of all, it's Oliver Stone's first sequel, which is interesting. More interesting than that -- How do you have a character off the shelf for 23 years and then come back and be played by the same actor. I think it's fascinating. People want to see what happened to Gordon Gekko. … Is he reformed? Is he a good guy? Is he back to his oily ways?"

"Do we want him back to his oily ways?" Chen asked.

Ross replied, "I kind of do. I kind of do. That's what made him great. I mean, that's what won Michael Douglas the Academy Award."

So how will it compare to the first film? Is it setting itself up for failure?

Ross said, "It's honestly a tough hurdle. Because the first one wasn't just great performances. It really tapped into the culture of the time, the economic climate, all of those things, in the '80s. So, you know, obviously in a different economic climate now. How is this going to tap into that?"

"Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith, who saw the film at the premiere, said, "I think it does a pretty good job."

Co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez said, "There's Oscar buzz for Michael Douglas."

Ross replied, "Absolutely. And Michael Douglas has throughout his career, such a range that he can do. I think it's going to be really fun for him to be able to come back and play this character. What a great character to play."

Price, whose favorite Michael Douglas movie is the original "Wall Street," said, "There were a lot of great Michael Douglas movies. But in this movie he literally disappeared. You didn't see an actor. . You saw Gordon Gekko. And I think that's why all these years later, the character remains so strong. That it will bring people back. Still even at the time, all that tension was on Wall Street. And now, 20-something years later it's back on Wall Street again."

"That movie was prophetic, as it turns out," Rodriguez said.

So what are our other anchors' favorite Michael Douglas movies? Check out their picks:

Maggie Rodriguez and Julie Chen - "The American President", "Fatal Attraction" - Rodriguez said, "'The American President,' which is this sweet movie where he's a single dad with a daughter, widower in the white house, falls in love with a lobbyist played by Annette Bening. And then 'fatal attraction.' That is my all-time favorite, favorite. I have seen this movie 500,000 times. And she's not going to be ignored. He goes on and on and on."

Chen said, "Only Michael Douglas can play this role, where you're actually sympathetic to a cheating husband."

Harry Smith - "Falling Down" - Smith said, "He plays this guy who's working for a defense contractor, and he just wreaks havoc. Stunning. Kind of a movie of its time."

Erica Hill - "The War of the Roses": Hill said, "It's just the first one that came to my head. It's just, to me, it was just this -- I haven't seen this movie in years. To me, it was just hysterical. It was dark."

Dave Price - "Wall Street"

Dalton Ross' picks: "Romancing the Stone" and "Basic Instinct": Ross said, "When I was a kid I loved 'Romancing the Stone.' And I kind of knew it was a 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' rip-off and I kind of didn't care. An amazing adventure and you had a great, you know, chemistry between him and Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito. It was so fun. Then as I get older, I look at some of his darker roles, the grittier roles like 'Basic Instinct.' The most famous leg cross in cinematic history. And you look at Michael Douglas. He's had a lot of strong female roles in a lot of these movies and the best actor makes everyone around him better. I think he did that in 'Basic Instinct.'"