'Wanted' precariously straddles the line between over-the-top action sequences so absurd they become fun and scenes that are simply ludicrous. Aiming for a fusion of 'The Matrix' and 'Fight Club', the film’s frequent outlandish action falls more squarely in 'Transporter' territory with all the pros and cons that comparison entails.
Fans of Russian action/fantasy epics 'Night Watch' and 'Day Watch' will feel right at home here as the helmer of those pics, Timur Bekmambetov, makes 'Wanted' his American debut and his stylish, instinctive command of action is readily apparent from the first sequence as well as his affinity for jumbled, incredulous narratives - sensibilities perfect to adapt Mark Millar's 2004 six-issue comic run.
Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is having a bad run; stuck in a dead-end job pecking away at a keyboard in a cubicle with an obnoxious, bellowing boss and fully aware that his emasculating girlfriend is banging his best friend on their lunch breaks but is too scared to do anything about it, what's worse is that he Google's himself with no results!
Luckily, a life-changing event occurs during his routine trip to the drug store for anti-anxiety pills - a sly, smiling Fox (Angelina Jolie) comes to his rescue both figuratively and literally as she helps him escape from an assassin who he later learns killed his father.
Fox informs him that his father was one of the greatest assassins that ever lived and was part of a secret organization of assassins called the 'Fraternity' - some of which were capable of using their adrenaline to slow down time and with a flick of their wrist, propel bullets around objects with a wicked arc.
What's the purpose of this organization you ask? Well, a giant loom weaves binary code into some cloth and the Fraternity's smooth-talking leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) interprets the code into names that become targets. No really. A giant Loom. 'Loom of Fate'. Controlled by destiny. Ahem. Anywho, the assassins aren't meant to question it and neither are we I suppose. Moving on.
So Sloan wants Wesley on his team as he is the only one with enough God-given superassassin instincts to kill the assassin who killed his father. And with joining a secret organization comes a training montage - mostly consisting of Wesley getting the crap beat out of him. Wesley then goes on a few missions before he tackles his father's murderer, a scene that will be the first of a handful of elaborate action-packed climaxes.
A textbook example of style over substance, there's no denying the slickness of the whole production and a certain unabashed bravado that's on display throughout much of the film but the almost juvenile misanthropy is a constant fluctuation between being effective and being ostentatious and reveling in the R-rating for no other reason than to try and be one of the cool kids.
Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman both play second and third banana, respectively, to James McAvoy and both really don't have much to do. A few twists in the story may raise some eyebrows but Jolie's job is mostly to look good firing a gun and walking away from the camera naked (A+ on both accounts) and Freeman having the novelty of dropping a few F-bombs.
James McAvoy, so good in 'Atonement' and 'The Last King of Scotland', is fine here but definitely hits his stride more towards the middle of the film. His exchange with Jolie during their first meeting and subsequent action sequence is clunky stuff, both in writing and delivery.
The film is certainly never boring though as Bekmambetov keeps the pedal to the metal almost constantly (lest the audience stop and think about that giant loom...wait, damn, I thought about it).
The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks great for being a mostly darker film. A 5.1 Dolby Digital track is as bombastic as expected.
Special Features start off with one 'Extended Scene', a twenty-minute 'Cast and Characters' interview segment interspersed with behind-the-scenes footage, 'Stunts on the L Train', 'Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible' and 'Groundbreaking Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution'.
'The Origins of 'Wanted': Bringing the Graphic Novel to Life', 'Through the Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov', 'Wanted': Motion Comics', 'The Little Things': Music Video Mash-Up', 'The Making of 'Wanted': The Game' and the Theatrical Trailer. As you can tell, almost all of the special features consist of mostly short featurettes. Comparatively meager stuff for a summer blockbuster.
'Wanted' is a picture that has split both action fans and fans of the graphic novel right down the middle. A fast-moving, R-rated live-action cartoon that functions as pure escapism; it will provide a great night's entertainment but do I see myself returning to it? Not really.
Wanted (Two-Disc Special Edition) is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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