Wanted (R)
Mike:
Mike: Tonight I am reviewing the new action film Wanted
, about an average Joe who is recruited to be an assassin to avenge the murder of his father long thought dead.
Scott was unable to attend.
So what did I think?
Mike: I started off wanting to like this movie, but by the end I just couldn’t. This is another one of those movies where everything that was pretty cool about the movie was shown in the trailer. I love the scene in the commercial where Fox (Angelina Jolie), driving a bright red Viper, spins the car around and scoops up Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy). I thought the curving bullets scene was pretty cool. So, obviously I came into the movie knowing that there was a big BS factor. That this movie would be full of things that just can’t happen. That’s fine, but after about an hour of this, and a twist that is so laughable that I laughed out loud, the movie just seems to collapse under the mound of BS that it has created for itself. Don’t even get me started on the Loom of Fate. You will be sorry you asked. No really.
I wanted to enjoy this on a superficial level as a popcorn action flick, but the movie kept making that impossible. Wanted reminded me of the recent Shoot Em Up, but unlike that movie this one is not really tongue and cheek or even that clever. This film is based on a little known graphic novel also called Wanted. I haven’t read it, but my guess is that it is substantially better than its celluloid brother. Maybe the graphic novel even makes sense. After a certain point, you just count the minutes waiting for the inevitable giant gun battle to come and go. But guess what, the movie still isn’t over.
The shame of it is that this movie has a great cast. That’s one of the reasons I was interested in seeing this. You would think that with Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy, Terrence Stamp and Angelina Jolie that you couldn’t go wrong. Well, guess what that assumption gets you? The funny thing is that Jolie’s acting isn’t the problem here. She is actually likeable for being an assassin. In fact, I had to admit that watching Fox shoot people while lying on the hood of a Viper was kind of cool. McAvoy, affecting a decent American accent does a good job with what he is given. Freeman basically reprises his role as the bad guy from Lucky Number Slevin. Stamp showing up makes me wonder if maybe Kaos is behind all this nonsense. (Get Smart reference for those of you paying attention).
This is director Timur Bekmambetov’s first American movie. He is known for a series of Vampire movies in his native country of Russia. He must be a big fan of the Matrix, as “bullet time” makes several appearances throughout the film. I was a bit baffled when I saw that writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas were also responsible for the excellent remake of 3:10 To Yuma. Scanning down their credits made more sense-2Fast 2Furious.
How do I rate this?
I give this a 2 overall and a 2.5 for action movie. The 2.5 is only for action in the beginning of the movie. By the time we get to a fight onboard a train that is falling down a very deep chasm, but doesn’t injure anyone, I start subtracting points. Don’t forget the Sewing Machine of Death, uh ….I mean Loom of Fate.
Just remember you only think you Wanted to see this film.
