All I knew going into this movie was what the trailer showed me: relentless action, a fish out of water becoming an assassin, Angelina Jolie in yet another bad ass role, etc. It wasn't much to go on. So I was actually pleasantly surprised by the overall plot and execution of Wanted. Directed by Russian-Kazakh filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, the movie flows quite smoothly from Acts I, II, and III and never bores the audience.
And I could easily read the audience - far from bored. At one point, a frat-tastic gentleman behind me hollered, very enthusiastically, that "Damn, she's hot!" He was referring to Angelina Jolie, of course, and this particular incident happened during her full rear nudity scene. I suppose he was amped up by all the sound effects that nearly deafened us during the course of the film. Hell, he could have been trying to whisper to his buddy for all I know. Either way, the incident and its determinants perfectly encompass the elements of the genre that have become fodder for critics and delicious morsels of escapist absurdity for many viewers.
At any rate, the film's scenario concerns downtrodden "accounts manager" Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy, for whom I am gaining more and more respect) whose life, for lack of a better word, sucks. He's oppressed by his overweight boss (funny Lorna Scott), his best friend who clearly uses Wesley to feel good about himself (Chris Pratt), and his very hard to please girlfriend (Kristen Hager). Wesley is part of the corporate machine, and he doesn't feel like he's in control of his life. Luckily for him, a badass assassin aptly named Fox (Angelina Jolie) bounces into his life and whisks him away into the world of professional violence.
Fox brings Wesley to an assassination squad called The Fraternity, overseen by Sloan (Morgan Freeman as his usual calm-but-awesome self) and directed by some sort of magical loom, which directs the assassins to their next "hits." The Fraternity has recruited Wesley because someone named Cross (Thomas Kretschmann) is killing, one by one, all of The Fraternity's members. Since Wesley's dad was one of the best assassins in the world, Sloan believes that Wesley can be trained to the impossibly high standards of his father, making him a perfect weapon to destroy Cross. Trust me, all this makes more sense when you're actually watching the movie.
The movie is definitely nothing more than a well-made summer action popcorn flick. There are interesting bits about kill methods, such as "curving a bullet," and most of those interesting bits are straight out of the fictional world of Frank Millar's Wanted graphic novels - they can't possibly be real. However, although Jolie brings nothing new to the screen (she has very few lines and has played an assassin about three times now), McAvoy creates a memorable character in Wesley. At once dorky, witty, bored, awesome, dangerous, and scary, Wesley is easily relatable. McAvoy's American accent couldn't be better. Meanwhile, when Morgan Freeman says, "Shoot this muthafucka!" the audience will roar.
I don't know about most of you, but I'm getting somewhat bored with the summer fare. There are too many comic book/graphic novel adaptations. However, like I said, this one is well-done. If you're looking for an action-packed movie with big names that will make the popcorn go down easy, you've got a lot to choose from right now. I would recommend Wanted over, at the very least, The Incredible Hulk or Get Smart. But I guess it just depends on what you're into. Big green monster versus killing machine Angelina Jolie. Take your pick. Different strokes for different folks.
I also just want to quickly mention the trailers that are shown before Wanted. Not only is there a fanboy fantasy in the newest trailer for The X-Files: I Want to Believe (I'll probably be one of maybe 20 people to see that), but there's also a red-band trailer for Step Brothers. For those of you who don't know, a red-band trailer is one which has not been "approved for all audiences" - you know that green screen before a trailer? Well, unapproved ones have a red screen, meaning they did not go through the approval process, and therefore can feature whatever content the studio damn well pleases (like the f-bomb, nudity, violence, etc.). I thought it was interesting. I don't recommend seeing this movie for the trailers, however. Some of them looked dreadful (Death Race, anyone?).
VERDICT:
Wanted features what anyone could ask for in an R-rated escapist, mindless action movie: lots of people dying in various methods, blood splattering all over the place, a naked hottie for the overcompensating males in the audience to hoot and holler at, plenty of humor, and whathaveyou. In other words, it's basically a judgment call. I can't really tell you that it's a bad choice when so many people are interested in this kind of movie and it's really the only mainstream genre out right now. But what I can tell you is that this one is pretty darn entertaining, as far as they go. And it's got one thing that a lot of actioners don't: a memorable protagonist.
So should you spend your money? I'd say do a little research before you see it, but you'll most likely enjoy it. Unless you're looking for a deep philosophical message about life or have a cynical and jaded attitude towards the genre, go for it. 7/10
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