Movie Review : "Wanted" (2008) starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie & Morgan Freeman. Directed by Timor Bekmambetov.

Plot Shot : Wesley Gibson has just gotten some shitty news, his father is dead. Well, he never knew his father so it's okay. Now someone is trying to kill him, which sucks. However an impossibly hot woman is risking her life to save him, okay fair trade. Turns out he is destined to become the world's greatest assassin and with a little luck from that guy that narrates every single movie and Lara Croft he will fulfill his destiny. Bullets fly, people die, shit blows up and this review ensues...

RE-View : Office drone Wesley Gibson's life sucks, his job sucks, his girlfriend sucks, his apartment sucks. He just fucking sucks, there is nothing redeemable about the guy, he doesn't even like himself. Worst of all he can't even find any reference to himself on "Google". Shit, even I can find myself on the internet, what a fucking tool. So, shitty ole Wes is doing some late night shopping when the World's Most Beautiful Woman tells him that he is the son of the world's greatest assassin. Furthermore she wants him to go with her and follow in his father's footsteps or bullet-paths. This is the quandary the hero of our story has been put into. Live a life of obscurity or become great at something, even if you find it morally reprehensible.

"Wanted" is directed by Timor Bekmambetov a Russian import who masterfully directed "Nightwatch" and "Daywatch" in his native country. "Wanted" is based on a graphic novel of the same name by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. It definitely has that comic book feel, the action is cartoonish, ridiculous and way over-the-top. However in a movie about a league of assassins what other way should it be? Cars flip over on cue to land on buses, bullets are willed into targets with stunning, inconceivable accuracy from miles and all of it seems right, it just seems right. Timor B. (I am not spending half my time trying to spell his name) does a remarkable job of suspending even the slightest whiff of reality or plausibility and plunking us into a world of explosions, bullet strikes and car chases.

The league or as referred to in the movie "The Fraternity" itself is mostly a mystery but is headed by the wise Sloan (Morgan Freeman), supported by the aptly named "Fox" (Jolie) and some other ancillary characters we don't really get to know too well. James McAvoy does a good job playing the guy you would never think of as a deadly assassin probably because he looks like the last person you'd suspect to be one. Angelina Jolie is well, fucking beautiful, beyond that he plays her character from "Gone in 60 Seconds" again, this time swapping murder for car theft. You are already familiar with Morgan Freeman; whether he is playing a good guy or bad guy he always is wise beyond his years and has very odd freckles.

Wesley is given a tour of the facility which doubles as a textile mill and is schooled in the millennium-old arts of killing. His progression from a guy who holds a gun as comfortably and naturally as a straight guy holding another man's unit to a masterful killer is quick and painful. By getting his ass handed to him he apparently unlocks his genetic disposition to create murder and mayhem at will. In addition to becoming more comfortable with firearms and knives his "healthy respect for human life" vanishes. He uses his newfound skills to take out targets in order to "maybe save thousands". Herein lay my problems with "Wanted".

Imagine for a moment you are just an ordinary citizen, working your way through a dead-end job, no prospects for any excitement. Most of us don't have to imagine very hard. Then a beautiful stranger comes and tells you that every character flaw you have is actually a genetic gift. These gifts will help you become the greatest assassin of all-time. All you have to do is train for a couple weeks and no one will be safe from your vengeance. Improbable yes, but pretty fucking cool. Now let's imagine your new clan of assassin friends gets its marching orders from a seamstress at Dryclean USA. However she doesn't pick the targets, a magical pair of navy slacks reveals them to her and she interprets who you kill. This isn't exactly how shit goes down in "Wanted" but this is the type of lunacy you are dealing with when delving too deep into the machinations of the plot.

The first part, the training and the ogling of the beautiful assassin, that would be easy. However taking orders from some magical code to kill people you know nothing about that may or may not save others is kind of a stretch. This is the plot flaw that the screenwriters of "Wanted" had trouble getting around. When showing us the Deus Ex Machina and trying to explain how and why it picks it targets stalls they insert this back-story about one time it could have saved a life. Unfortunately the movie is filled with deceitful characters so it seems like even if it is true it is suspicious at best. If someone was trying to convince you to kill someone say John Henderson of Cedar Rapids, Michigan (made it up, I have no beef with you) and said "a long time ago a name came up on the list and we didn't take him out, his name was Osama Bin Laden". Would that sway you? Or would you just be like "what the fuck, you gotta try harder than that?".

The characters do tons of research on how to kill these people but don't even consider trying to figure out why they are even killing them. Sure, Wesley asks but is just told to "take it on faith". I am sure there is a message in there about humanity and faith and whatever but it's muddled at best. Apparently it confused Wesley as well because after some initial skepticism young Wes is eager to use his powers for good, or revenge I didn't really catch which one. This once again proves that guys will do anything as long as a beautiful woman asks them to.

Putting aside my idiotic notion that a movie should make some bit of sense the action and acting is top-notch. Watching people get dispatched from the mortal coil in new and innovative ways always seems to cleanse the palette of real-life nonsense. Watching Angelina Jolie do it for two hours seems to help even more. In the end "Wanted" is an entertaining if not dumb-as-a-fucking-post movie.

Sequel Worthy? : While the comic books did delve deeper into the world in which "Wanted" was set and the back-story of the "Fraternity" the movie glances over it. There is some room for a sequel but I don't think it will happen. While this is sort of a superhero origin movie there isn't much more for Gibson to do once the movie reaches the credits. I would however pay hard earned money just to watch Angelina Jolie emerge from her "bath" for two hours.

To DVD or not to DVD : While it's an entertaining movie I don't think repeat viewings would be that much fun to watch. After awhile seeing the same death scenes and car chases would get old and that's pretty much all this puppy has to offer. It's not like you can pick up new and interesting character moments with every viewing. It just isn't that type of movie, it's the kind you watch in the theaters and then rent it on DVD to see if there are any cool deleted scenes or making of features. I would highly recommend that anyone that enjoyed this film watch "Nightwatch" and "Daywatch".

Final Grade :

6 out of 10 Gats