Wanted

Starring: James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann

Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov

RS: 3of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3of 4 Stars

2008 Universal Pictures Action

Angelina Jolie is packing heat, and she's going to show James McAvoy how to load a phallic pistol and shoot his wad. What's not to like? Wanted is what I'd call a guilty pleasure. Translation: It's trash, but I love it anyway. Brutal, sexy, built to thrill and minus a scintilla of redeeming social value, the movie — based on a series of comic books by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones — explodes like summer fireworks. And the detonator is Timur Bekmambetov, a Kazakhstan-born director whose Night Watch and Day Watch are huge hits in Russia and who is determined to hit Hollywood with the same pizzazz. Not a timid soul, Bekmambetov, who cut his teeth in the ad game, knows how to get a story going without pesky preliminaries.

In the first scene, a professional assassin kills a few dozen people and then goes down in a hail of bullets. Cut to office drone Wesley Gibson (McAvoy), who is told that the dead assassin is his lost daddy and that Wesley, who takes pills to calm his nerves, has killing in his DNA. Jolie plays Fox (cool name), the gun-crazy babe who brings Wesley to Sloan (Morgan Freeman at his wiliest), the leader of a secret, centuries-old fraternity of assassins who kill bad guys on the orders of the Loom of Fate (don't ask). Sloan tells Wesley he has inherited sensory powers. Heard of curveballs? Wesley can shoot curve bullets, a handy trick if you want to exact vengeance on the man (Thomas Kretschmann) who maybe killed your father. First, Wesley must go to assassin boot camp under the sadistic tutelage of Fox, the Gunsmith (Common rocks the role hard) and other members of the league, who beat him bloody and then heal his wounds by dipping him in a tub of ice.

Hell couldn't freeze over the logic gaps. But Jolie — in between heavy dramatic roles in A Mighty Heart and Changeling — comes on as pure sizzle as a tattooed hottie who motors around Chicago (OK, it was shot in Prague), firing away with a scary, steel-eyed squint. She even lays a wet one on Wesley to make his cheating girlfriend jealous. Dream, dudes, dream.

And McAvoy is dynamite. The Scottish actor, in a 180-degree spin from the period elegance of Atonement, is having a ball digging into the role of an American geek aching to bust loose. It's a kick to see him go ballistic on the office workers who humiliated him. But the film's real dramatic energy comes from watching Wesley develop into a tight, muscled killing machine who can't quite shed his scruples.

Bekmambetov is clearly fucking with Hollywood action conventions. And in scenes such as Wesley stalking a target from the top of a speeding train, he beats the experts at their own pulse-pounding bag of tricks. There's passion as well as pow in Bekmambetov's game plan. Michael Bay, eat your heart out.

PETER TRAVERS

(Posted: Jun 27, 2008)

Your Turn

Give us your review of
Wanted

Review 1 of 8

1of 4 Stars

You know Peter.....there was a time when you'd call this movie exactly what it is.

Mindless Drivel.

If only zero stars were an option.

Jul 3, 2008 14:09:39

Review 2 of 8

1of 4 Stars

We have now identified the six stupidest people on the face of the Earth.

Where do I begin with this piece of garbage flick?

What was the message of this movie? That being a "normal" person equates to worthlessness?

And what's up with these assassins being the stupidest, most inept assassins I've ever seen? I mean, my goodness, they were absolutely retarded.

I could literally rant about this filth for hours, but I think it's just better to move on. And promise myself that I never see a Jolie movie again. She is the worst actor in the history of film.

And how did he survive that train crash? Didn't the producer go to great lengths to show us that they were mortals that suffered injuries just like the rest of us? What was the point of all the gore if you're just going to make them super human after all?

Very, very stupid.

Jul 3, 2008 10:36:21

Review 3 of 8

Not Rated

For those of us you who loved 'Office Space' and 'The Matrix' (the first one), this movie is for you....2 hours of fun. Dark Humor, mixed with mind blowing action!!! Good summer flick

Jul 2, 2008 20:30:39

Review 4 of 8

3of 4 Stars

If you like the action and visual effects of Matrix and empathize with the nerd in Office, see the movie Wanted. Don't think too hard as this is just a fast action, thriller, revenge, romp --- mindless fun.

Jul 1, 2008 18:10:42

Review 5 of 8

3of 4 Stars

There is a great review of this movie on YouTube by the Reel Geezers -two old school hollywood veterans who tell it like it is
check it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxGPfJVTl74

Jul 1, 2008 00:13:46

Review 6 of 8

3of 4 Stars

This movie was 2 hours of entertainment and that's just what I needed it to be. Things I liked: the soundtrack with Danny Elfman scoring and tracks by NIN, Angelina Jolie is very easy to look at and by the end so is James McAvoy, there were a couple of twists at the end that were unexpected, and it was pretty solid action. The slower scenes were kept to good length so the 2 hr and 5 minute movie didn't drag and there were some genuinely funny parts which helped things along.

Things I liked not so much: Morgan Freeman was so-so, but that was probably more the role than his acting, and there were some pretty grody action scenes (James McAvoy shooting someone in the face and then sticking his hand in and shooting several people through the dead guys head - ew!).

Wanted is a little bit Matrix, a little bit Sin City and a little bit Kill Bill. It's not a film to take seriously, but was 2 hrs of fun. Some plot points were shaky, but it's based on a comic book, right? There was lots to look at and at the end the audience in my theater was clapping. I don't mind that I spent ten bucks on this flick and I'll probably Netflix it once it's on DVD so I can see it again now that I know the twists at the end.

Jun 28, 2008 07:34:06

Review 7 of 8

4of 4 Stars

Waited months for this to come out. As a McAvoy and Jolie fan it was not quite what I'd expected, but more than I planned on. Different from anything McAvoy has done and who can resist Jolie giving a beating? Ending caught me by surprise, should have seen it coming, didn't. I'll be seeing this in theatres again.

Jun 27, 2008 23:45:08

Review 8 of 8

4of 4 Stars

I have worked most of My semi short life part time at Movie Theatres, Movies are My passion and this is the perfect popcorn movie, nothing to really think about too much, just great action, great special effects and great actors loving what there doing, you can tell they are all loving it, the way they chew the scenery, and you as the viewer are just as in love, with the whole concept of being able to bust out and let lose, and not giving a damn about society or its rules...

I mean who hasnt fantasized about killing your boss and here they let you live through that vicariously and you laugh in glee at the antics...

A great movie, trashy and stupid, but great kinda like your last girlfriend...

Jun 27, 2008 12:14:24

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