Wanted
Based upon Mark Millar’s explosive graphic novel series and directed by Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (creator of the most successful Russian film franchise in history – the Night Watch series) WANTED is the story of one normal guy’s journey into the world of assassins where he is transformed into the unparalleled enforcer Wesley Gibson.
25-year-old Wes (James McAvoy) was a regular office pee-on, getting chewed out by his boss every hour and disrespected by his girlfriend on a constant basis. Certain he would amount to nothing in life, Wes saw little else to do but live out his miserable days dying in the mundane clock-punching cycle.
This was until he met the woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie).
After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly Fox recruits Wes into her Fraternity, a secret society of assassins. Training Wes using the cover of revenge for his father’s death, they unlock within him a dormant power of lightning fast reflexes and extraordinary agility. Wes is indoctrinated into the frat’s ancient, unbreakable code: Carry out the death orders given by fate itself.
With brilliant tutors including the Fraternity’s enigmatic leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) – Wes learns to love the newfound strength given to him. But slowly, he begins to realize that there is more to his dangerous allies than meets the eye. As he wavers between newfound heroism and vengeance, Wes comes to learn that he alone can control his destiny.
Review:
Sexy, fast-paced and unbelievable. The pace of WANTED is like watching a bullet from behind as you move at it’s velocity taking notes on the damage it does. It starts off slow enough, detailing the life of Wesley as he goes about his daily life, but once the beautiful Fox (no pun intended) comes on screen, the rollercoaster dips into a rapid 90 degree drop and it only stops once the last line is uttered, leaving you with jaws agape, adrenaline pumping and a strange sense of pleasure, that you did it. You survived the drop, and you somehow want more, once was not enough, you wouldn’t mind seeing Wes curve a bullet again, or the intricately tattooed back of Fox… this was a ride that was well worth your seat in the theater. You actually want to thank the creators for surprising you with a pretty decent action flick.
As you can tell from my first paragraph, this is an action movie. I will not stop there because I want to throw a huge disclaimer up for those of you who only want realism in cinema, this one curves every law in physics, realism and history and it does so without any shame or pretense. People jump trains, curve bullets, heal near morrtal wounds within days and manipulate motor vehicles to do things that a kid could not even invent with a set of toys. So I warn you not to go in expecting realism or common sense, go in expecting to see non-stop action and special effects.
The acting was supposed to stink right? I mean, if this is an action movie we should really dog the cartoon-like dialogue and laughable delivery right? I mean come on, us self-important, popcorn eating, armchair directors who judge these things should really crap on the acting JUST because it’s an action movie right? Well let me break that typical mode and go out on a limb by saying the acting was pretty damn good. It was good to me because I believed that Anjelina Jolie was a stealthy, knife sharp, mysterious assassin and Morgan Freeman was a business-like, calculating leader. I even felt sorry for the poor schmuck who the movie’s about, watching his life flow on without circumstance for the first few minutes and reflecting on my own… wondering if there were any parallels if I was to take a 3rd person view on it. Between the direction and the delivery, I got all that, the rest of the time I was trying to close my mouth as scene upon scene of action consumed my time.
The special effects were very well done, close-up shots of uniquely shaped bullets mid-shot do not distract from their intent and trains flying all over the tracks seem realistic enough to take their word for it. The only really sober portions beside the drab city and cinematography is the score. I really wish it had a little more pull to the music since nothing stuck out as memorable but at the same time, it worked well with the film and reflected the mood when necessary. Still, I always hope for a kicking soundtrack to keep a movie’s memory alive, on a personal level I remember most movies by that one song and unfortunately Wanted lacked it. BUT it had all the right ingredients to work without.
So how do I feel about Wanted? It was a very entertaining and fun movie, with much rewatch value.
Acting – Angelina’s eyes, Freeman’s presence and the believability of Wesley makes this a winner.
Cinematography – Busy streets, train tracks and rooftops… its a bit too much like that other revolutionary action flick.. you know, the one with phone booths.
Story – Beginning, the flow and ultimately the end, I loved it all. Well put together tale, not super original but still likeable.
Direction – Though not an expert in this category, I must say it flowed well enough to leave me without questions at the end. I saw what was going on and followed every action with ease.
Filed under Action, Crime, Thriller · Tagged with angelina jolie, assassins, comic book movie, mark millar, morgan freeman, wesley gibson
