WANTED (James McAvoy. Preferably shirtless.)
RELEASED: June 27, 2008
Jenna Avery-Lawyer
WANTED has all the qualifications needed to produce a popcorn chomping, edge of your seat, thrill ride. Is it fast paced? Yes. Violent? Affirmative. Sexy? Absolutely. Completely ludicrous? You betcha. All the positives appear to be right on target (pun intended). I would dub this action packed flick to be inventively cliché. This cliché, however, was given a heavy dose of amphetamines by director, Timur Bekmambetov. Its pounding pulse reflected those of the audience.
During this film, it was not uncommon for me to scoff at some ridiculous bit of dialogue, and not two seconds later find myself completely absorbed. While I’ve seen this plot before, I’ve never seen it done quite so dramatically. Depicted is the age old tale of an average Joe, James McAvoy, stuck in a perpetual state of banality, only to discover he has latent spectacular abilities. McAvoy’s character, Wesley Gibson, is nothing special. He’s depressed, has anxiety, and hates his life. Suddenly, he’s thrown into an ancient society of assassins, with the ability to “bend the bullet”, and he’s never been happier. Who knew killing people was an anti-depressant?
Angelina Jolie, exquisitely emaciated as usual, smoldered her way through the film. She proved that even dead on the inside, tough as nails assassins can still apply flawless eye makeup. I don’t think her character, Fox (I know), managed to say more than 20 words. When she wasn’t busy standing around not speaking, she was blazing through the city, proving to be an expert killing machine. I found it difficult to concentrate though, because I was so worried her frail arms would snap under the weight of her fancy pants revolver. Regardless, she was perfect as the cold assassin doing only what was demanded of her, devoted to the very end.
James McAvoy was a delight on screen. I found him irresistibly adorable, in a deadly, torture-soul sort of way. I was instantly won over by his portrayal of the office worker that desires more in life. His obvious abhorrence for his 9 to 5 job and apparent vehement hatred for his boss brought Fight Club Edward Norton to mind, albeit, a slightly less disturbed version.
The action and special effects were grandiose to say the least. I’ve never seen a car flipped that many times, on purpose. It was Matrix-like in its ability to surprise the audience with plenty of innovative stunt choreography. Spectacular stunts aside, there were a couple things that caused me to shake with suppressed laughter; one of these things being the “loom of fate”. What on earth could that be, you say? Well, it’s a loom that delves out death warrants in its stitching, and the secrets are written in binary code. The sight of the loom was enough to make me shake my head in amazement-- amazement that something so ridiculous was being taken so seriously.
If I allow myself to forget about the “loom of fate” for a few moments, I can honestly say that I would see this again. The plot is not as transparent as some may believe. It twists and turns as much as James McAvoy’s bullets. The action is creative, the people are beautiful, and every stunt looks like a finely crafted work of art. See it expecting to be entertained, not moved.
During this film, it was not uncommon for me to scoff at some ridiculous bit of dialogue, and not two seconds later find myself completely absorbed. While I’ve seen this plot before, I’ve never seen it done quite so dramatically. Depicted is the age old tale of an average Joe, James McAvoy, stuck in a perpetual state of banality, only to discover he has latent spectacular abilities. McAvoy’s character, Wesley Gibson, is nothing special. He’s depressed, has anxiety, and hates his life. Suddenly, he’s thrown into an ancient society of assassins, with the ability to “bend the bullet”, and he’s never been happier. Who knew killing people was an anti-depressant?
Angelina Jolie, exquisitely emaciated as usual, smoldered her way through the film. She proved that even dead on the inside, tough as nails assassins can still apply flawless eye makeup. I don’t think her character, Fox (I know), managed to say more than 20 words. When she wasn’t busy standing around not speaking, she was blazing through the city, proving to be an expert killing machine. I found it difficult to concentrate though, because I was so worried her frail arms would snap under the weight of her fancy pants revolver. Regardless, she was perfect as the cold assassin doing only what was demanded of her, devoted to the very end.James McAvoy was a delight on screen. I found him irresistibly adorable, in a deadly, torture-soul sort of way. I was instantly won over by his portrayal of the office worker that desires more in life. His obvious abhorrence for his 9 to 5 job and apparent vehement hatred for his boss brought Fight Club Edward Norton to mind, albeit, a slightly less disturbed version.
The action and special effects were grandiose to say the least. I’ve never seen a car flipped that many times, on purpose. It was Matrix-like in its ability to surprise the audience with plenty of innovative stunt choreography. Spectacular stunts aside, there were a couple things that caused me to shake with suppressed laughter; one of these things being the “loom of fate”. What on earth could that be, you say? Well, it’s a loom that delves out death warrants in its stitching, and the secrets are written in binary code. The sight of the loom was enough to make me shake my head in amazement-- amazement that something so ridiculous was being taken so seriously.If I allow myself to forget about the “loom of fate” for a few moments, I can honestly say that I would see this again. The plot is not as transparent as some may believe. It twists and turns as much as James McAvoy’s bullets. The action is creative, the people are beautiful, and every stunt looks like a finely crafted work of art. See it expecting to be entertained, not moved.
The Official Movie Trailer for WANTED:
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