Customer Reviews

Wanted (Full Screen)

5 star:		(130)
4 star:		(105)
3 star:		(70)
2 star:		(43)
1 star:		(66)

 

 

"Wanted" is a mile-a-second action picture that never lets up. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) suddenly finds that his life as an ordinary office worker is over. A beautiful woman, Fox (Angelina Jolie), crashes into his life and introduces him to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins led by the mysterious Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Wesley is informed that his long-lost father was murdered while working for the Fraternity and Wes has been chosen to target the rogue member who did it. Before he can complete his assignment, he must first uncover the dark secrets behind the Fraternity to understand why he was selected and how he figures in its plans.
The main attraction of "Wanted" is the amazing use of CGI special effects, from glass panes shattering as bodies fly through them to bullets redirecting their trajectory in mid-propulsion. Jolie manages to look as comfortable in action flicks as in serious dramas like the recent "Changeling." She is quite the action babe and easy on the eye. McAvoy, who showed his acting chops in "The Last King of Scotland" and "Atonement" seems an odd fit for "Wanted." He looks as if he's doing this one to pay for the new swimming pool. He's fine in the early scenes as a drone-like worker lost in a huge company, but his transformation into this almost-indestructible super assassin is harder to accept. Bonus extras on this two-disc DVD include an extended scene; behind-the-scenes featurettes on the film's stunts, visual effects, and origins in the graphic novel; and a making-of documentary.

I'm surprised at the number of poor reviews for this film. I have to admit that I picked it up with limited expectations, but once into it, I found it to be a bloody, irresistible ride---for what it is, that is.

This film was spectacular in Blu-ray, appearing almost 3-D, at times. The CGI and audio were equally adrenaline pumping and, although I'm not usually into blood-fest, action films, this one became addictive.

Yeah, the plot was limited, but I found a great deal of enjoyment watching James McAvoy morph from a passive, introverted, office cube-jockey, into a man. One who learned to stop saying, 'I'm sorry,' for just about everything. I did find myself mentally repeating, 'wax on, wax off,' during some of his lethality training, with difficulty taking his transformation seriously :-).

Morgan Freeman has been a great addition to so many films, but he often tends to come across with the same acting formula. His abilities were stretched, with this atypical character. Amazingly, he can actually be a convincing 'bad guy.' Who knew!

Angelina Jolie's role was a piece-of-cake for her. She rarely had any dialogue. She was basically eye-candy, for the guys. But, her sultry, sexy, witchy-eyed attributes were perfect for this killing-machine, character. Hmm, I'm scared of her! And, she does angst SO well with those pouty lips, doesn't she.

So, if you view this movie with casual expectations and are willing to allow yourself the enjoyment of pure escapism and bloody mayhem, I think you will enjoy this movie. Just don't have too many espressos before watching. You could develop a cardiac arrhythmia :-).

I don't watch enough action flicks to compare this to as far as 'depth' is concerned (and I find people looking for 'depth' in action movies about as silly/clueless as these movies are accused of being). But as I understand it, Wanted is based on a comic book (so judge the movie accordingly, please, instead of out of context). Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, and James McAvoy and the rest truly impressed in their respective roles. And Ms. Jolie (or Mrs. Pitt) burnt a hole on the screen with her physicality (clearly she's no damsel-in-distress) and her deep brooding enigmatic charm. Her best action role to date: as Fox she could kick Ms. Lara Croft's sorry 4$$ without breaking a sweat. I saw it twice on the big screen and intend to get the DVD (saying quite a lot since I'm not really an action movie fan).

WANTED is loosely based on the comic mini-series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones which has been published by Top Cow productions. The movie is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the filmmaker who gave us the 2 part Russian mystical action series: "Nightwatch" and "Daywatch". I wasn't a fan of those two films so I went in without any expectations. Surprise! This director seemed to have honed his directorial skills; armed with a larger budget, a great cast and a comic series that has a cult following, "Wanted" is a visually stunning action movie that redefines the term "Popcorn Entertainment".

Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is an accountant in a dead end job, with a cheating girlfriend and who is flat broke. One day, he encounters a woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie) who after an encounter with a man named Cross (Thomas Kretschmann) takes him to see the head of a secret organization of assassins called "The Fraternity". Sloan (Morgan Freeman) has revealed that Gibson's father was a member and that they want him to follow his father's footsteps. Being his father's son, Wesley has a unique ability to pump more adrenaline into his body than a normal person can. Wesley undergoes extensive training both mental and physical to go face to face with the man who supposedly killed his father; Cross. Little does he know that there is more to everything than meets the eye and truths may lead him to question everything he has come to believe.

"WANTED" is an adrenaline-pumping, fast-paced, soda-slurping, hyper-kinetic solid action film that relies on its visual execution. The way it is shot is directed at our visual senses with outlandish action sequences that is both sexy, dynamic and nearly as groundbreaking as the original "Matrix". This is definitely the film's main draw as the director immerses you into the sequences that looks enchanting, sexy and downright COOL. Once Bekmambetov sets things up, the audience will be treated to one of the most impressive action sequences I've been privy to less than 5 minutes into the film. It was a great move in part of the director, to wake the viewer up and make sure he has your attention for its entirety with a large exclamation point. The film is not pretentious--it knows exactly what it's aiming for.

Now, there is also more to the film that first meets the eye. The film has an effective plotline. These highly trained assassins whose skills borders on being superhuman are not simple killers who get paid to do a job. They depend on mysticism in order to decide who lives and who dies. The tapestry has a close relationship to Norse Mythology's "Weave of FATE" According to which, the three Norns were responsible for weaving the future of man and Gods alike. Well, according to Norse Mythology anyway. Some viewers may argue that this may be a little far-fetched that there should always be someone to pull the strings; well, that's where the film also becomes a morality play. The film has bits of the "revenge" formula but it doesn't really hurt its proceedings.

Wesley Gibson is a simple guy with no ambitions so how does one train him to awaken his hidden capabilities? Simple, first beat the tar out of him. I mean beating him ala-"Fight Club". This may be a step backward to some, but for me I thought it made sense. Some Zen techniques have proven that pain can be used as a tool to chip away the useless things. Adrenaline can be a magical thing, believe it or not. The filmmakers need to be complemented that they picked an actor like McAvoy instead of an ultra-cool personality like Jason Statham. McAvoy maintained that everyday guy image and I appreciated the fact that the screenwriter took the time to develop his character. Gibson is a pitiable character and I saw how he was molded into a highly skilled assassin which was very admirable. Gibson became a different person and he doesn't look like someone intimidating that would allow him to blend in.

It is always good to have Morgan Freeman and having Angelina Jolie around doesn't hurt either. Freeman is his usual sympathetic self and Jolie is her usual mysteriously sexy self. Jolie's character "Fox" is a woman driven into the Fraternity for her own reasons. We saw glimpses of her past but it doesn't really explain much about her which maintains her aura of mystery.

The film does have its faults and some viewers may say that it follows some "already" established formulas; while this may be true, the film does work. Hey, it sure helps when you add an army of lethal rats stoked on peanut butter and explosives. The "curving" of bullets theory may seem a bit over the top but hey snipers have been curving a bullet's trajectory when a target is hundreds of yards away. There are also some great bits that comes out of the comic book. The shooting the wings off the fly would satisfy comic book fans. There are nice bits of humor dispersed throughout the film but it abandons it soon enough when the proceedings become all business.

"WANTED" is full of familial vengeance, epiphanies, explosions and rock-solid shoot-outs that borders on insanely cool but also utterly insane. There is an overload of nasty violence and mild gore that would be cause for praise. Shooting through a blown away jugular? Cool. Amid all the violence and comic book mayhem the film finds a soul and the effective twists makes "Wanted" a very rewarding experience.

Just what happens when you become the one thing you fight against?

Highly Recommended! [4 ½- Stars]

A whiny twenty-something office drone discovers that he has inherited from his father the ability to shoot the wings off flies! This ability allows him to be part of a centuries-old order of assassins who kill bad guys. They take their kill targets from a code that comes through to them on a special weaving loom. Their headquarters is in a textile factory. This film features lots of car chases, lots of people getting beat up, lots of people chasing other people, lots of Angelina Jolie standing around in tight outfits (I'm not a big fan of AJ - she reminds me of a crocodile), and lots of dead and exploding animals. The action is really what the film is about, so plot and character development make only brief appearances before being vanquished by the excessive violence. It's an exhausting, noisy film. It is also kind of disgusting (did I mention the exploding animals?). Frankly, even with the plot twist it was very predictable and not in a good way. I just didn't enjoy this film at all and hope to never see it again.

I just wanted to chime in real quick. A lot of people are knocking this movie for it's overly glossy looking CGI heavy effects. Well I thought the same thing while watching the film, but if you check out the special features you'll discover that much of what you thought was CGI was actually done by more traditional special effects that have always been around. I was seriously impressed to discover this and much kudos has to go to the director and producers for being able to pull off so much without having to offer a sacrifice to the great CGI god.

And seriously, this movie is not trying to be Citizen Kane or Casablanca so stop judging it like that. It's just pure fun and adrenaline. Seriously, do you sit there parsing every single comic book and graphic novel you read trying to figure out if it could hold up as real life? Get over it already. This is fantasy for crying out loud!

Also check out the director's other works: "Night Watch" & "Day Watch," also great fun, but again, just try not to dig too deep into the plot or you'll get a massive headache. These movies are just meant to be thrill rides I think. Oh BTW, don't mind the subtitles in those other 2 films.

James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman are at the top of their game in this movie about a secret society of assassins that need to enlist the one (unlikely) person who can help them to achieve one of their major goals.


I loved this film
I really did
I sat up and said "WHOA!"
It's sort of like The Matrix
And fulfills its quid pro quo

I LOVED this film
I did! I did!
And everything it brings
It's all about an underdog
Destined for better things

Have I said
I loved this film?
But you too may enjoy
The making of a hero
Out of wimpy McAvoy

I loved this film
It's awesome
(Though the plot's a little holey)
Forget the flaws - just concentrate
On Angelina Jolie

I know I said
I loved this film
By now it's quite the trend
The plot it twists and weaves around
Just like the bullets bend

By now you know
I loved this film
I'll try to keep it brief
You'll really like this one if you
Can suspend disbelief



If you're looking for a fast-moving action movie with A-List stars, car chases, gravity-defying stunts plus a touch of humor, and are willing to suspend disbelief in exchange for entertainment, then this is the movie for you.

Rated: 4.5 stars (It ain't perfect, but it's fun anyway)



Amanda Richards, July 15, 2008

I thought this film was mindless, campy, and reeks of fun. "Wanted" maybe filled with plot holes as big as Jupiter but at least they made it up in the area of visual style served with a side action. You've probably met a person like Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) who is a nobody trapped in a boring world. Whose girlfriend cheats on him, his best friend is a backstabber, and he has a boss that won't get off his back. No...maybe...Well later in the film an assassin named Fox (Jolie) tries to initiate him into the Fraternity, his life is changed forever. He learns that his father was one of the best assassins in the world, and he must no walk in his footsteps. He leaves his nothing life and joins the Fraternity. He must undergo a grueling initiation, and then hunt down the man that killed his father.

`Wanted' has decent character development along with a good plot. It is structured well, with Wesley not being able to turn back after Act 1, and a great setup for the climax after Act 2. There is even symbolism in the movie with a draw bridge coming apart. It symbolized the end of Wesley's old life. There are many obstacles put in Wesley's path of killing Cross. The screenwriter made sure that becoming a Fraternity member wasn't an easy challenge. There is a great twist in the middle of the movie, which made the movie way better. The ending is very entertaining. It starts off with a big bang that was planted since the beginning of Wesley's life with the Fraternity. One problem was that the action was either overdone or illogical in parts. In one scene, Wesley hits a man with a keyboard, and letters fly off spelling a phrase I'm not aloud to repeat.

`Wanted' has a very good director and I had seen his previous films but a mild fan of them. It was a smart choice to pick a foreign director to get a new perspective on things in regards to the lighting and the settings. For example, Wesley's apartment being next to a train is a good setting because it bleak and it shows how sad his life is and foreshadows later events. The office is a good place to show how average his life is and the textile mill seems true to what the Fraternity is about. The acting is good and expected by others such as Morgan Freeman who is always a good actor, although I would like to see him in a different role time to time. James McAvoy played a great lead, reminiscent Edward Norton in Fight Club. We have Angelina, who has less line than the boss, so that makes me consider she was placed there for her fame and beauty. Even though she was the weakest of the group she was still believable and had worse material to work with. The minor actors, like Wesley's best friend did a good job as well.

Aside from that it instantly forgettable stuff but if you're looking for something noisy and totally undemanding then this would fit that bill.

With the massive success of numerous comic book films over the last decade or so, most of which have been based on well-known characters, eventually the Hollywood studios would gain enough confidence in the genre to tread into somewhat unknown territory by attempting to adapt lesser-known comic books. Hollywood has previously dabbled with the somewhat obscure characters and comic books to a small degree, although their success rate has been hit and miss; the attempts that worked, and worked very well I might add, were films like "Men in Black" or the blockbuster "300"; however, the ones that missed seemed to strike out just as massively as the others had succeeded, examples would be "Elektra", the spin-off from "Daredevil" and "Zoom: Academy for Superheroes". The appeal for movie studios to adapt more unknown titles would seem a somewhat risky proposition, but Universal had found great success with their gamble on `Hellboy', so perhaps their confidence was a bit stronger than most. Which brings us to Universal's most recent film adaptation based on a lesser-known comic book, the critically praised and fan boy approved, hard-edged and extremely violent "Wanted" based on Mark Millar's comic book miniseries of the same name.

"Wanted" is the story of a weak-willed accountant named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), who lives an unenviable life where his girlfriend cheats on him, his boss verbally abuses him, and essentially everyone around him does nothing but take advantage of him every minute of his life. One moment everything in his life seems to be as mundane as ever, until a sexy woman by the name of Fox (Angelina Jolie) saves him from a would-be assassin and his routinely boring life. Now, Wesley is offered the chance of a lifetime from a mysterious man named Sloan (Morgan Freeman), who leads a group of assassins called The Fraternity, to embrace his hidden killer instinct and become the assassin he was destined to be.

With Hollywood's successful comic book adaptations it seems a good rule of thumb would be to retain as much of the source material as possible, or else the comic fan base will turn on the property faster than you'd believe. Generally, I completely agree with the rule of staying true to the comic book material, and almost every single time an adaptation strays too far from its origins the movie flops massively; however, with "Wanted" I would have to be cliché in saying that sometimes rules are made to be broken. Helmed by Russian director Timur Bekmambetov making his American directorial debut, and written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (writers of "3:10 to Yuma"), along with Chris Morgan ("The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"), "Wanted" loosely follows the storyline of the comic book miniseries written by acclaimed writer Mark Millar. The movie changes some of the characters from the miniseries, removes all of the costumes (aside from some subtle nods with Angelina Jolie's leather attire), along with the notion that superheroes and villains existed at one point but no longer; however, with all these changes being made from the source material, series creator Mark Millar was still in approval of the production, even acknowledging his own wish to have removed the costumes from the comic book, though he never got around to it.

The screenplay is a mixture of reality based and somewhat science-fiction tinged dialogue and mind-bending action sequences, mixed with an interesting approach to the concept of predestination, all fitting perfectly together for a film in the vein of "The Matrix". The story is extremely fast-paced, providing a semi-origin tale that takes the traditional origin sequences and puts its own spin on them, along with some truly innovative special effects sequences, and enough action set pieces to satisfy even the most ardent of action junkies. The characters are not the deepest you'll find in a movie, comic book or otherwise, but there's enough development sprinkled throughout to keep each character interesting for the audience, and not leave them waiting impatiently for the next fight to occur.

After so many CGI-intensive movies being released year after year, enabling directors and their special effects wizards to create virtually anything their imaginations can conceive of, it is surprising to me to still be able to watch a movie that manages to achieve some originality in the realm of CGI and action sequences. I thought I had seen almost anything that Hollywood could come up with by this point, but director Timur Bekmambetov and his team of creative special effects masters have crafted a truly awesome visual experience that will leave you saying, "Wow, I have never seen that before!" For some, "Wanted" seemed to be the movie that the two `Matrix' sequels (especially the final one, "The Matrix Revolutions") should have been. I for one enjoyed the two `Matrix' sequels, but that's for another time, either way "Wanted" is definitely a movie that is just as innovative in its presentation as anything found in `The Matrix' trilogy. Although the storyline isn't nearly as deep or complicated, or even confusing in some spots, as `The Matrix' trilogy, I believe "Wanted" is still just as much of a fun and entertaining experience as the former.

Of course, the success of this movie wouldn't be possible without the terrific work done by the three leads in the movie, James McAvoy ("Atonement"), Angelina Jolie ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith"), and Morgan Freeman ("The Dark Knight"). It is a testament to the talent of these superstars to be able to give credibility, and even some depth to such a far-fetched story, and still be able to walk away with their respect intact and their "cool" factor definitely through the roof. Anybody that has seen any of James McAvoy's previous films will no doubt be surprised by not only his choice of signing on to a movie such as this, but also by the fact that he pulls off the role of an action hero surprisingly well. Angelina Jolie is no stranger to action heroines due to her successful turns in the `Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' movies and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", though lately she has done more serious dramatic acting, it was nice to see her cut loose once again and still look just as good doing it as she ever did. Veteran actor Morgan Freeman is another big surprise to find in this movie, sure he's done the last two `Batman' films, but this role comes much more out of left field than any of his previous work, yet he still gives a great performance. On a side note, there is something strangely humorous about hearing Morgan Freeman channel his inner Samuel L. Jackson at one point in this film.

"Wanted" is by far one of the most visually impressive action films you will ever see, with an interesting story that moves at break neck speed, but doesn't allow for a whole lot of character development, although you don't really miss it. The movie is extremely violent and proud of it I might add, approaching the action genre with a boldness to push itself hard into an R rating, a move that many films (action or otherwise) seem afraid to do here lately.

"Wanted" is rated R for violence, language, and brief nudity/sexuality.

Full of nonstop action. Sexy. Impossible. WANTED is all these and shamelessly flaunts it. And with good reason: It's a popcorn flick. Summer is upon us and most movie-goers demand a few solid action films, and Wanted delivers.

We've seen this plot before. A nobody discovers that he/she is a somebody and develops their "abilities" thanks to the guidance of a super-dude/dudette. The nobody is cubicle-bound-anxiety-prone-loser Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy, Atonement). Stuck in a dead-end job he constantly feels overwhelmed by his supervisor and must take anxiety medication to settle himself. Until one day he meets his dudette, the appropriately named Fox (Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart), who saves him from the deadly crosshairs of Cross (Thomas Kretschmann, King Kong), an assassin gone rogue from within a group known as The Fraternity. Told initially by the leader of this group, a man named Sloan (Morgan Freeman, 10 Items or Less), that The Fraternity is a group of "good" assassins who do fates bidding by getting their kill assignments from something known as "The Loom of Fate", Wesley (McAvoy) enters their ranks in roughshod fashion (being beaten, sliced, healed ...and then beaten and sliced again) to toughen him up for the job he must do.

His goal, though, is to kill the man who killed his previously unknown father (Cross being the assassin of Wesley's dad). But if turning a no-account accountant into a killer weren't enough, there's a not-so-subtle twist that many might see coming as they watch this bullet swerving action movie.

McAvoy is completely believable as the dweeb-infused office-boy-turned-gunslinger, making the premise of the film a joy. And watching the sexy Angelina Jolie whip out massive handguns and hit her targets nearly without fail is something that'll make your action-packed-weekend fun. She seems so comfortable doing impossible and ridiculous stunts that it makes them seem possible and plausible.

For those in the mood for a great shoot `em up, this one's a winner.