65 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Action, Action, and More Action, November 26, 2008
"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.
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34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ESCAPISM 101!, December 15, 2008
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 :-).
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72 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very entertaining action flick. The best eye candy for 2008., November 9, 2008
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).
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