Wanted (2008)

As the impresario behind gravity-defying Russian blockbuster Night Watch, it's inevitable that Hollywood would come calling for Timur Bekmambetov. With a studio budget and an international cast, including two Oscar winners, Timur cooks up a Hong Kong-styled actioner bursting with fast cars and big guns. Our unlikely hero is mild-mannered Chicago accountant Wesley Gibson (Atonement's James McAvoy), whose father died when he was a tot. Wesley never learned to stand up for himself, and his girlfriend, boss, and best buddy all take advantage until the seductive Fox (Angelina Jolie) rescues him from a sharpshooter named Cross (The Pianist’s Thomas Kretschmann). After which, she whisks him away to a mansion on the edge of town to meet the other members of the Fraternity, where leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) informs Wesley that Cross, a rogue agent, executed his father. Sloan believes Wesley has the goods to take him out, so he undergoes the Fraternity's brutal training regimen (Marc Warren and Common dish up some of the abuse). When he's ready, Sloan sends him out to fulfill his duty, but matters become complicated when Wesley finds out someone isn't telling the truth, leading our former milquetoast to exact an elaborate revenge. For those who've been following McAvoy's career to date, Wanted will surely come as a surprise. In adapting Mark Millar's comic series, Timur offers buckets of blood and a smidgen of depth, but fans of The Matrix and Mr. and Mrs. Smith will want to give this one a look. --Kathleen C. Fennessy




Stills from Wanted (Click for larger image)

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Empty calories

A good deal of talent is wasted in this movie, which, like its hero, strives but fails to be either relevant or interesting. James McAvoy is miscast as a American milquetoast accountant who learns that he's a hereditary member of a secret fraternity of superhero assasins. The remainder of the plot plays out much like the Star Wars prequels, with the whiny, unlikable protagonist being led around by a boring, inscrutable mentor figure to discover a needless and incomprehensible "twist" concerning the nature of the putative villain. If you're a nerdy office drone looking for a good wish fullfilment fantasy, the 10-year old "Office Space" offers more thrills than this over-caffeinated dud. November 25, 2008

WANTED - Left me wanting. . . a shower!

Maybe I'm asking far too much from Hollywood these days but are there any writers that can develop a script that DOESN'T have the "F" word in it? The movie wasn't that good to begin with. Could've gotten more humor out of the dull job with the overbearing boss and it could've been done without all that foul langauge.
The stunts were cool but not anything we haven't seen before in ALL of the Matrix movies. The gratuitous sex scene with the trampy girlfriend being taken on the kitchen counter by the dirtbag co-worker...didn't need that!
If you really think you need to watch it, please put the kiddies to bed and only rent it. Not worth adding to a good DVD collection.
I hope Angelina & Morgan don't do another waste of film strip again. They're too good for a cheap thrill like Wanted. November 24, 2008

wanted

wanted was one of the best action packed movies i have seen in a while well since the dark night but i really enjoyed it and also looking at angelina jolie November 18, 2008

Best movie of 2008

I haven't seen the dvd yet but I enjoyed this movie more than any other this year. I have a nasty habbitt of only reviewing things I hate but I had to say something about this movie. Lots of cool action, good acting and a half way decent plot. Thats it! None of that psycological garbage you get from Dark Knight, that you need a PHD to follow, just pure simple movie enjoying. The last 15 minutes of this movie is action packed at it's finest, but the rest of the movie builds up nicely to it.. I love this movie and whish that hollywood would make more like this. November 15, 2008

Good Acting Performances, but unoriginal plot

I was SO disappointed in this movie when I saw it in the theater. The initial reviews were good, but the movie wasn't original at all. It was like watching "the League of Extraordinary gentlement" meets "the Matrix" and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Do we actually have to watch EVERY SINGLE BULLET in super slow motion?!!! Do we have to listen to the "F" word in every third sentence? James Mcavoy's character was a lot like Neo in being the opressed cubicle worker who's destiny is greater than the humdrum existence he currently dwells in. While the action sequences were cool, the same special effects got tiring after the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. time. You get the picture.

With some creative editing, this movie could have easily become a PG-13 movie. Instead it minimized the teen age boy demographic who would have gone to see it for the action/ violence sequences and of course to gawk at Angelina Jolie. And if you want to see Angelina Jolie in all her glory, the two "Tomb Raider" movies are FAR better than this one. Don't waste your money in buying this. If you still want to see it, I would suggest renting it or waiting until it comes on Pay per view. November 13, 2008

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