Take some elements of “The Matrix” and combine it with “Fight Club,” and you get this weekend’s new release, “Wanted.” It’s a hyperkinetic action movie about a cubicle drone who is apathetic about life in general, and is run down by the routine of life. The montage that shows what he goes thru on a daily basis is perfectly scored to he Nine Inch Nails’ song, “Every Day Is Exactly The Same.” Then one day, while getting his anxiety medication from the local pharmacy, he is accosted by a strange and incredibly sexy woman played by Angelina Jolie who informs him that his recently deceased was a gifted assassin, and that he is in possession of those same talents. Of course, this guy doesn’t believe anything she says until she shoves him out of the target range of an assassin’s bullet. From there on out, “Wanted” turns into one major adrenalin shot of a movie and the pace never lets up.
James McAvoy plays Wesley Gibson, the corporate drone who is aware that he is a pussy whose girlfriend is consistently cheating on him with his supposed best friend. Like Edward Norton’s character in “Fight Club,” he would just love any sort of escape from the mundane existence he never planned on leading. Then he is suddenly invited to join a league of assassins known as The Fraternity. The Morpheus of this piece is Sloane, played by Morgan Freeman in his usual role of mentor to the young and incredibly naïve. Like Neo, Wesley is more than willing to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, and that’s even if he won’t like the answers he will soon find.
“Wanted” was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, and he was responsible for those “Night Watch” movies that are insanely popular over in Russia. This is his first American film, and he certainly shows a flair for directing action scenes that are ridiculously exciting. Even though the movie does remind you of other movies with its use of slow motion bullet shots and of bullets flying everywhere in a state of chaos, Timur keeps you interested and the comparison to other films does not really weaken “Wanted” at all.
The other thing that really makes this film work, other than the thrilling action sequences, is the cast itself. James McAvoy, coming off of “Atonement” (which I still have not seen darn it), is perfectly cast as Wesley Gibson, and he makes Wesley’s transition from wimpy ass corporate world employee to highly trained assassin very believable. This is especially true when you compare him to that kid in “The Forbidden Kingdom” who learned karate in a ridiculously short time. That was not at all believable, and but McAvoy gets away with it in this movie as he puts tremendous effort into making the bullets “curve.”
The other big star of the movie is of course Angelina Jolie, and this is a role that a lot of people probably have expected from her. She is like Mrs. Smith from “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” or Lara Croft from the “Tomb Raider” movies, unshackled from the restraints of the PG-13 world. Angelina has more than proven her worth as an actress for many years now, and her Oscar win for “Girl, Interrupted” was no fluke. On top of roles in movies like “A Mighty Role” or this fall’s “The Changeling,” it is always a welcome site to see Jolie let her hair down and return to the action genre where she seems to get her biggest audiences. Her character of Fox is an action fan’s wet dream, but her character goes through some twists and turns that no one could have seen coming. Fox is not simply a fabulous looking assassin, but a survivor of the worst kind of childhood trauma that no person should ever experience, or can ever be expected to recover from fully. Jolie fleshes out this character that you do care for, even if she is not what she appears to be.
You also have other great actors here like Terence Stamp, who seems to be the choice villain of the summer with this and his role in “Get Smart.” Terence always brings a strong intelligence to any role he plays, and this movie is certainly no exception. Morgan Freeman is a wonderfully strong presence in any movie he does, and he is always welcome in a movie like this. This is the case even though I keep wondering if Morgan gets sick of playing this kind of role over and over again in so many films. There are also some strong supporting performances from rapper Common who is an ever so cool dude known as Gunsmith.
“Wanted” is meant to be an over the top action extravaganza that doesn’t waste time setting up the journey and training of its main character as a prelude to an inevitable sequel. There are many moments in the film that are utterly ridiculous and hard to believe, but this is not a movie that thrives on total reality, and there is no way it could have. The characters (McAvoy’s especially) are real enough to draw us into the action and the story of the movie, and it makes the action all the more exciting. This is what movies need; characters that you can either relate to in order to make the movie all the more involving.
The movie was based on a comic book series created by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. It seems geared towards those who live lives of quiet and frustrating desperation. It is a fantasia of the cubicle worker who sits in front of a computer all day long, and dreams of a more exciting life. While we all wish our lives could be more exciting and not confined to a boring routine that we end up becoming accustomed to before we know it. Many of us would probably prefer to be assassins, but the movie taps into that need of wanting to be more than we are. Some are disturbed by the idea of this guy giving his normal life a shove out of the way for a life of killing people, but then again, this is just a movie and not a terrorist manual. I say it’s better to indulge in the fantasy than engage in it in real life.
Looking at McAvoy’s character, I can’t help but wonder how the screenwriters of the movie managed to get so much of my life onto the big screen. Working in a cubicle at a job that doesn’t inspire me, girlfriend cheating on me (well, I don’t have a girlfriend, so I can’t really relate to that thankfully), a boss driving you up the wall, etc. Why couldn’t they have just asked me to play this part? I could give method actors a run for their money!
“Wanted” is a kick ass action flick that the summer movie season calls for with an intense passion. It’s not perfect (most movies aren’t anyway), but it’s never boring for a second. It’s an exhilaratingly good time you can hope to have at the movies this summer. Now, if only we cubicle slaves can get so lucky to have a woman like Angelina Jolie come into our lives. That would make our day jobs seem all the duller. I doubt I will be becoming an assassin anytime soon though. Probably just as well.
***1/2 out of ****
James McAvoy plays Wesley Gibson, the corporate drone who is aware that he is a pussy whose girlfriend is consistently cheating on him with his supposed best friend. Like Edward Norton’s character in “Fight Club,” he would just love any sort of escape from the mundane existence he never planned on leading. Then he is suddenly invited to join a league of assassins known as The Fraternity. The Morpheus of this piece is Sloane, played by Morgan Freeman in his usual role of mentor to the young and incredibly naïve. Like Neo, Wesley is more than willing to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, and that’s even if he won’t like the answers he will soon find.
“Wanted” was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, and he was responsible for those “Night Watch” movies that are insanely popular over in Russia. This is his first American film, and he certainly shows a flair for directing action scenes that are ridiculously exciting. Even though the movie does remind you of other movies with its use of slow motion bullet shots and of bullets flying everywhere in a state of chaos, Timur keeps you interested and the comparison to other films does not really weaken “Wanted” at all.
The other thing that really makes this film work, other than the thrilling action sequences, is the cast itself. James McAvoy, coming off of “Atonement” (which I still have not seen darn it), is perfectly cast as Wesley Gibson, and he makes Wesley’s transition from wimpy ass corporate world employee to highly trained assassin very believable. This is especially true when you compare him to that kid in “The Forbidden Kingdom” who learned karate in a ridiculously short time. That was not at all believable, and but McAvoy gets away with it in this movie as he puts tremendous effort into making the bullets “curve.”
The other big star of the movie is of course Angelina Jolie, and this is a role that a lot of people probably have expected from her. She is like Mrs. Smith from “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” or Lara Croft from the “Tomb Raider” movies, unshackled from the restraints of the PG-13 world. Angelina has more than proven her worth as an actress for many years now, and her Oscar win for “Girl, Interrupted” was no fluke. On top of roles in movies like “A Mighty Role” or this fall’s “The Changeling,” it is always a welcome site to see Jolie let her hair down and return to the action genre where she seems to get her biggest audiences. Her character of Fox is an action fan’s wet dream, but her character goes through some twists and turns that no one could have seen coming. Fox is not simply a fabulous looking assassin, but a survivor of the worst kind of childhood trauma that no person should ever experience, or can ever be expected to recover from fully. Jolie fleshes out this character that you do care for, even if she is not what she appears to be.
You also have other great actors here like Terence Stamp, who seems to be the choice villain of the summer with this and his role in “Get Smart.” Terence always brings a strong intelligence to any role he plays, and this movie is certainly no exception. Morgan Freeman is a wonderfully strong presence in any movie he does, and he is always welcome in a movie like this. This is the case even though I keep wondering if Morgan gets sick of playing this kind of role over and over again in so many films. There are also some strong supporting performances from rapper Common who is an ever so cool dude known as Gunsmith.
“Wanted” is meant to be an over the top action extravaganza that doesn’t waste time setting up the journey and training of its main character as a prelude to an inevitable sequel. There are many moments in the film that are utterly ridiculous and hard to believe, but this is not a movie that thrives on total reality, and there is no way it could have. The characters (McAvoy’s especially) are real enough to draw us into the action and the story of the movie, and it makes the action all the more exciting. This is what movies need; characters that you can either relate to in order to make the movie all the more involving.
The movie was based on a comic book series created by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. It seems geared towards those who live lives of quiet and frustrating desperation. It is a fantasia of the cubicle worker who sits in front of a computer all day long, and dreams of a more exciting life. While we all wish our lives could be more exciting and not confined to a boring routine that we end up becoming accustomed to before we know it. Many of us would probably prefer to be assassins, but the movie taps into that need of wanting to be more than we are. Some are disturbed by the idea of this guy giving his normal life a shove out of the way for a life of killing people, but then again, this is just a movie and not a terrorist manual. I say it’s better to indulge in the fantasy than engage in it in real life.
Looking at McAvoy’s character, I can’t help but wonder how the screenwriters of the movie managed to get so much of my life onto the big screen. Working in a cubicle at a job that doesn’t inspire me, girlfriend cheating on me (well, I don’t have a girlfriend, so I can’t really relate to that thankfully), a boss driving you up the wall, etc. Why couldn’t they have just asked me to play this part? I could give method actors a run for their money!
“Wanted” is a kick ass action flick that the summer movie season calls for with an intense passion. It’s not perfect (most movies aren’t anyway), but it’s never boring for a second. It’s an exhilaratingly good time you can hope to have at the movies this summer. Now, if only we cubicle slaves can get so lucky to have a woman like Angelina Jolie come into our lives. That would make our day jobs seem all the duller. I doubt I will be becoming an assassin anytime soon though. Probably just as well.
***1/2 out of ****
It is a beautiful kick ass over the top joy ride!!
Excellent review!!