Wanted (2008) User Reviews (863)

Dark Humor and Non-Stop Action, Fun Summer Film

[brando647 · 8/10 · 29 December 2008]

I know there is a lot of hate going around for this movie (though it oddly manages to maintain a decent rating despite the nay-saying...) but I would really urge people to watch this movie before letting the opinions of others affect their views on it. Sure, the movie takes some liberties with plot and, obviously, physics, but it makes for a fun action/popcorn movie. It is, after all, just a movie. After seeing this film, I would say it was one of the most fun action films of 2008. It's got plenty of violence and stylized action with a dose of sexuality and a decent plot...Wesley Gibson is a miserable account manager with a dead-end life until he is approached by the beautiful Fox, who informs him that his father was a master assassin who had been murdered days before. Gibson is recruited into an assassin's guild known as the Fraternity to hunt down and kill his father's murderer.

The quirk with the Fraternity is that it's assassin's have the special ability to raise their heart rate above 400 bpm, pumping incredible amounts of adrenaline into their system and giving them superhuman reaction speed...basically "bullet-time". So you can expect a lot of over-the-top stunts, including the ability to curve bullet paths. Why there has been a lot of complaints about this aspect of the movie, I don't know. It's not really over-used and it adds a cool element to the movie. The film has PLENTY of action throughout, though most of my favorite scenes were during the course of Wesley's training with the Fraternity. The film also has a "twist" ending, though it isn't difficult to see the truth coming.

For a popcorn flick, the film boasts a great cast. Morgan Freeman is Sloan, the overseer of the Fraternity, and it's the first time I've seen him in such a role. He did seem a little awkward with some of the rougher dialogue towards the end of the film (though I guess it's to be expected...I never expected to hear Freeman spouting "Kill THIS motherf***a" in a film). Angelina Jolie is wonderfully sexy as Fox, though I'm biased to the point where I'd love Jolie in just about ANY role. Rounding out the primary cast is James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson; I had not seen any of McAvoy's previous work but I loved his work in this movie. He is perfectly suited to play both the meek, anxiety-ridden account manager and the elite killer he becomes. He does a great job inducing the element of dark humor into the film with his great delivery.

While I've read quite a few complaints about this film, I can't understand why. It's a guilty-pleasure action film and it's not to meant to be taken completely seriously. It's just a MOVIE and a fun one to boot. When you watch this film, just sit back, disengage your brain, and enjoy the non-stop action and fun characters.

Not a bit of substance...but, who cares?

[c_p_c · 7/10 · 8 December 2008]

Putting it bluntly, 'WANTED' was a rather formulaic and predictable outing. A loserly, office shut-in with the help of a hot babe learns about his past and is suddenly thrust into the world of assassination, a world of flipping cars, extreme gun fights, and mind-altering stunts, thus shedding every bit of his shy, weak self. This we've all seen before.

Where 'WANTED' stands apart from any other action film I've seen is in its style. The director has upped the ante on how the action is portrayed. Gone are any sort of boundaries. This is a world where people can flawlessly flip cars over others and land perfectly upright on the other side, where people can shoot from miles away hitting nothing but their target, where people can put such a curve on bullets that they hit multiple targets standing on different planes all with one shot. If people can really do this, perhaps I'm living the same existence as Wesley, and I'm missing out. The film's major selling point is its style and its worth a viewing simply for that.

The A-List cast delivers solid performances, but the script they are given - with the exception of the last line uttered in the film - is mostly generic. James McAvoy is sympathetic and relatable as the guy who is overwhelmingly bored with his life but doesn't know how to change it - something many people understand. His transformation into tough guy is effortless and convincing. Angelina Jolie is Fox - a name quite fitting as Jolie looks fantastic; however, we've seen this character on her before. Still, she does it well. Freeman, as usual, injects intelligence into his role, playing the solemn leader of The Fraternity.

However, for all the edgy extreme events the film contains, the film is hurt by some pieces that are just plain odd and are never fully explained. For one, The Fraternity gets their targets from a secret code that is woven into tapestries by The Loom of Fate. Sounding like something from a Monty Python sketch, it is never revealed who - if anyone - controls the loom or where it derives its powers. Names are simply revealed through code and the members of The Fraternity don't ask questions. The members of The Fraternity are fully human, but seemingly invincible thanks to some sort of special wax bath devised to heal wounds very quickly. It's the film's easy out that allows them to deliver the goods on all the high-octane action they desire. Lastly, the film turns a very predictable corner that many will see coming from miles away.

When the film ends you will realize how simple it is and how ridiculous it is about 75% of the time, but you won't care. The film makes up for every flaw by smearing the screen with mind-bending stunts, unique filmography, and breathtaking visuals - yes, Ms. Jolie is one of them. It will be painfully obvious that all the simple plot details were just the framework and the real substance of the film lies not in its intricate story, but in the execution of its stunts and action. 7/10.

What's wrong with those comments?!

[[e-mail] · 8/10 · 3 January 2009]

I guess this is my first moment I want to comment on the movie. The reason for that is all those negative comments.

People don't like the idea of a man making a giant leap across buildings, about the "plot of the world" and the ridicule in the movie.

But at the same time I guess they DID like Trinity's jump in Matrix, destiny (sadame) in any Japanese movie or comedy of Mr and Mrs Smith.

COME ON PEOPLE! This is NOT James Bond, Bourne or Die Hard. This is exactly the opposite. This movie in my opinion simply tries to make fun of all those movies. It's all a sarcastic view of today's action movies. Just like the bullets - bent to the fullest. For me it's more of an action comedy. The ideas are so stupid that it's funny. Why? Because it was fit in the action movie. I mean come on - the loom, the bullets, the healing stearine, the rats... How can you ever compare it to any action movie that tries to be serious? This is not trying to do that.

That's why I liked this movie - for its intelligent sarcasm and probably because of all the negative comments from people that expected a "mature action movie" and didn't understand the movie.

Gleefully fun and thoroughly entertaining.

[0U · 23 February 2020]

'Wanted' is a film that's having too much fun not to like. Who cares about the impossibility of bullet bending when most audiences accept superheroes with inhuman powers and strengths based on comic book characters. As with those comic book films, it's just a work of fiction and fantasy, and since 'Wanted' doesn't take itself at all seriously, then you can suspend utter disbelief. The casting and performances are all spot on, above all James McAvoy who delivers one of his best performances in his career so far, even if the might not be the best film he's been in. Stylish, funny, competently directed and paced, this is a great action flick with an ordinary story that is more than the sum of its parts due to slick a execution.

Wanted dead and alive

[ed_two_o_nine · 7/10 · 10 March 2009]

Right first things first this is an extremely enjoyable action movie, but for it to work for you must suspend your sense of disbelief. With this done there is much to be enjoyed here. The premise of an agent order of assassin weavers is lets face it pretty ropey, and I am not sure how true it is to the comic source material (which I will probably dig out at some point), and Morgan Freeman is really playing it by numbers here. But we have some amazing and original action sequences that really do move the movie on at a frenetic pace. Yes we can see the massive influence of 'The Matrix' and 'Fight Club' and lets just hope if there are sequels they do not go the way of the shoddy follow ups to the Matrix. I like the fact that some of the characters are played by different actors than your normal action movie types, though to be honest I am not sure about McAvoy's American accent, though he handles everything else well. Still much better than your average action movie and worth repeat viewings if you are a fan of the genre.

Wanted left me wanting.

[axlrhodes · 6/10 · 18 February 2009]

For the first half hour Wanted felt like a trailer.Adapted from a graphic novel the film never seems to settle,the actors seem ill at ease with the material and the impatience on the directors part leaves us with a messy hackneyed film of action set pieces and sci fi mumbo jumbo inbetween. The film tries far too hard to be cool which is a shame because im sure it could have been a better film if things would have just been done with a little less haste.James McAvoy,so convincing in Last King Of Scotland is hard to like in this role.Morgan Freeman seems totally non interested but to be fair hes given virtually nothing to do and just serves as filler between action scenes.Angelina Jolie is the real star of this film,she has astounding presence as an actress and suits the action genre,its just a shame we cant find a truly memorable action film for her to star in.In summary Wanted is a fast paced but legless action film that promises much but delivers very little.It leaves you wanting.

WANTED: The Matrix with a great sense of humor.

[uniiq · 9/10 · 18 June 2008]

I am a huge fan of Mark Millar's Wanted. And so, when I entered the theater with a friend on an advance screening pass (comic book store owners are very nice people to befriend), fear gripped me. It HAS to suck...right? It's Hollywood...and a "loose" adaptation...

And so, once the credits rolled, and I was one of the many people laughing and clapping, the fear had long passed.

The films works. It provides the amazing opiate of style and dark humor, and in such massive quantities that both evoke the spirit of the source material and utterly ignore the latter 90% of the graphic novel. But that independent streak works for Wanted. You feel a sense of amused wonder and curiosity throughout, and all the plot twists that follow are different enough from the source to actually hold your attention without ever being prematurely obvious.

James McAvoy does an excellent job, and his wry, sarcastic narration sets the mood of the film perfectly. His evolution from pansy to Neo has a genuine and pleasantly arrogant feel to it, although the stereotypical Rocky-esquire training montage is used to speed things up a bit (what a tiresome tool). Basically, his version of a cinematic Neo is both smarter, more entertaining, and more intelligent.

Backing him up, more with sexy looks and an "I'm too cool for you; you're not Brad" attitude than anything, is Angelina Jolie. Her character screams Trinity. And loudly. Regardless, watching her on-screen is a pleasure. She's terribly likable, and extremely lethal throughout.

Morgan Freeman's Morpheus, called Sloan here, is played well, although the role is a bit beneath his skill as an actor. He makes it work though, playing the wizened and mature helper very well. More importantly, he delivers an excellent (and unexpected) line that rivals Samuel L. Jackson's memorable expression from Snakes on a Plane. That alone makes any price of admission worthwhile.

Any other character serves as nothing more than white noise, there to populate the world rather than intrigue.

The theme of Wanted is all about taking charge of your life and making your own choices, something that the very premise of the first hour of the film both adheres to and contradicts. Rather than analyze it here (and waste time arguing the pleasantly mad logic of a movie where bullets bend stylishly), I'll leave that to the people who inevitably will, assuming the bullet-fu and gore don't completely captivate them (and they should). Wanted IS violent, truly, and yet it doesn't strive to turn every frame into a gory, action-packed orgasm. The film handles it with grace and a style I sorely wish more action movies took into consideration.

As bullets curve, heads get punctured, hilarity ensues, and rats explode (peanut butter rocks, BTW), you'll smile besides yourself.

This really isn't a superhero comic adaptation...it's The Matrix with a great sense of humor.

Enjoy it.

Remo Williams meets The Matrix?

[philforeman · 7/10 · 1 May 2011]

Everything about Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) points to how miserable he really is. He's at a dead end job, his girlfriend is sleeping around, he takes antidepressants and his boss is a pain in the ass. He wonders how his life could be different but he's stuck in a fantastic rut with no end in sight.

Little did he know his father had passed away leaving him to a secret fraternity of assassins and he'd be trained by a man named Sloan, (Morgan Freeman) who operates outside the confines of the law and independent of any of the world's governments. Fox takes him under his wing, tells him his anxiety problem is actually a gift of being able to speed your heart rate up releasing adrenaline and slowing down time. He also tells him his father was killed by a double crossing member of the brotherhood ironically named, Cross (Thomas Kretschmann).

This plot eventually forces Wesley and his mentor/trainer Fox (Angelina Jolie) to question the integrity of the brotherhood and Sloan's methods in a spectacular confrontation close to the end of the movie.

Without giving away too much of the plot the theme of the movie appears to be in line with that of The Matrix in that it is a fantastical adventure for someone caught in what appears to be an inescapable reality of mundane existence. The fact that Wesley is barely living his life makes you want to cheer for this nerdy slob. He is in fact everyone who is sick and tired of their job, life, partner, and in many ways living in general.

Contrast is given when Wesley finds out he doesn't have common problems like anxiety and that he didn't need medication he needed to be trained how to use it to his advantage. Who wouldn't like to be someone like James Bond and a Thomas Anderson (Neo) all rolled up into one? It's only when he's made to be a fugitive by Sloan that Wesley embraces the lifestyle the Fraternity has to offer.

This film uses gritty acting along with a ton of eye candy to tell the story. Real time three dimensional effects speed and slow time forcing you to suspend all disbelief and buy in to the premise that a lowly desk jockey named Wesley could become one of the greatest assassins the world has ever known.

To The Extreme

[whlrguy · 8/10 · 20 June 2008]

I just got back from an advanced screening of Wanted. I have to admit not being a fan of the Director, Tim Bekmambetov. Somewhat disappointed in his Russian Films Nightwatch and Daywatch. However, in his American directorial he delivers!! An abundance of profanities and over the top action sequences that are beyond xtreme fill the screen in a dizzying array of visual adrenaline. Holding you in a tight breathtaking grip with its interesting visual techniques, humor and acting. James McAvoy (the sweet faun from the Chronicles of Narnia) plays the loser we all know, Wesley Gibbon. The guy, who just trudges through life allowing himself to be walked upon, humiliated and has no desire to escape it, except in a bottle of anti-anxiety meds. Enter a beautiful Woman, Fox (Angelie Jolie), a mysterious wise man Sloan (Morgan Freeman) and his life instantly changes from Billing Reports to Gratuitous Violence, Mastering Weaponry Skills, and Assassination. Believe me when I say what the Matrix introduced, Wanted has mastered. The director is a skilled artist at using the camera in conveying visual emotions of Wesley like I have never seen before, wait I take that back, seen it in NightWatch. I definitely recommend this deliberately humorous, action packed, violent, profane, to-the-extreme film to be seen on the big screen - check this one out!!

Do yourself a favour. Read the book!

[Gimmickthegnome · 6/10 · 4 August 2008]

So a friend told me how the book was very different from the movie, and made me read the book... and boy was he right. But more about that later...

I recall seeing one of the producers say in an interview that due to all the superhero movies out, they intentionally went for a more "realistic" approach. I kept this in mind as I watched this movie. That said, I can only say that it's good, not great.

James McAvoy, who I've been a fan of since "Rory O'Shea Was Here", does an acceptable job as the movie's main character. However, I couldn't help but notice his accent seem to be just a little off here and there, which was a little distracting for me. Morgan Freeman and Angelina put in some reliable, albeit unremarkable, roles. And Common, a guy who has more on screen gravitas than most actors, is sadly underused.

The action scenes, which are vital for a film like this are very good. There are plenty of "okay, that was pretty cool" moments for adrenaline junkies out there. (Fyi: McAvoy actually did the "on the car hood" stunt with no CG. Nice job.) The story is good, but considering the original story, it would have been really hard to make a horrible movie. The special effects do a good job of making you believe in the unbelievable and some interesting camera-work and slow-mo also do well to enhance the experience.

All in all, above average, but not outstanding. 6 out of 10 BONUS COMMENTARY: The real tragedy about this movie is what it COULD have been. The original comic book wasn't about him being an assassin, you see, it was about him training to be a supervillian! That's right, in a superhero world, he's the Green Goblin, or Lex Luthor, or even the Joker! Now imagine what that movie would have been like! Additionally, they had to train him to be a cold-hearted, homicidal, remorseless bad guy. The book, which is definitely not for kids, is chock full with so much f-you, in-your-face, unapologetic violence this version of the movie would have been looking at an R rating for sure. Anyway, if you get a chance, track down the book and have a read. You can thank me later.

Can I get my money back?

[tyler4837 · 1/10 · 28 June 2008]

I was a bit apprehensive about this film from the previews and commercials, what with the bending bullets and all, but I figured with all of the action movies trying to outdo each other...maybe there would be a good story backing it. However, in the opening sequence, when a man leaps several hundred feet to slay some assassins on another rooftop before being aced out from miles away, I started to lose any hopes for a good movie. Then any further hopes were dashed when it was revealed that a magic god loom delivers a binary code that says who is to be killed (how the frat discovered binary and secondly, that the people named were to be killed is beyond me, maybe god/fate/whatever wrote to them in binary on the first sweater that was and told them to kill the named ever thereafter) This whole god/fate (fate being spelled out when the explosive rat truck hit the mill door) loom thing really blatantly pointed out the problems with dogmatic, irrational beliefs that can be found running rampant throughout our society; but speaking of that society, it's a shame to think that most people will be unable to find that point because it was buried behind quack gimics and special effects. This movie made Crank look like the Godfather. Aside from the absurd story backing why the frat was assassinating people, all of the stunts were merely an attempt to outdo movies like crank with time/space bending cg that makes anyone who has any inkling of what physics are want to cry. If the time-slowing gimics were cut from the movie, I think it would have maybe passed 30 minutes of film time. I could maybe understand the rapid heartbeat to be able to react quicker to things, modeled after a fight or flight type of response on crack or something, but the bullet bending thing got to be a little too ridiculous by the end where a bullet can be fired around a 20' circumference and have the same gun tossed to someone else before the bullet returns from its 360 degree trip to kill the shooter...I mean, really? I really wanted to walk out of the theater about 30 minutes into this film. There isn't enough room in this comment box to enable me to voice the downfalls of this film. However I feel as though I must include this side note on society as well. On top of whole fate and immovable beliefs tangent from above, the fact that movies like this can go over well in America is a great example of how dumbed down culture is making us...Oh let's make an action movie with a loom that dictates who should live and who should die...oh yea...and the assassins can bone physics with no rationale as to how...It truly made me sick. "What luck for rulers that men do not think." - Adolf Hitler. It's understandable how we get leaders like George W Bush when movies like this are not only accepted, but admired. Now if you will excuse me, I need to read my binary sweatshirt for what to eat tonight.

Top Easy Watching Action Movie

[andy-1978 · 8/10 · 22 March 2009]

This is a very easy to watch action packed movie. It delved into your imagination and as long as you are not expecting a true to life action drama you should love it. I am not normally struck on the matrix style movies but I really liked this film. The story is not be taken too seriously, just go with the flow of the film and watch the stunts and special effects. Putting Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman in the movie had to be a good move with the box office bucks. But the ace card for this movie in my opinion is James McAvoy who plays the geeky guy who turns into a top assassin. At first I did not recognize James McAvoy from his previous roles like " The last King of Scotland " and ' Wimbledon ". When I did realize it was the same actor I understood what a fab actor he truly is. He portrays his character with absolute ease. His transition in his role from the start of the movie to his ending character is class. James I am a true fan !! The movie is a good watch if you are into this type of movie.

Fun, but you've seen it all before

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 17 April 2011]

Slick but over-stylised action flick from the Russian director behind the NIGHT WATCH movies. Plot-wise, WANTED borrows heavily from both LEON and THE MATRIX in the story of a young, slightly nerdy man working in a dead end office job who finds himself being indoctrinated into a world of assassins and massive, CGI-heavy action sequences. What follows is extremely fast paced, never for a moment realistic, and full of the kinds of unbelievable OTT scenarios that will give even the most hyperactive child a headache. We've got cars rolling through the air, trains dropping through the sky and, in the film's neatest concept, bullets that can actually bend around obstacles.

WANTED is given some decent credibility thanks to the actors who populate the parts. James McAvoy is fine for the most part, apart from a single car chase in which he screams and whines like a girl for the entire duration. Morgan Freeman sleepwalks through his role and Angelina Jolie is given little to do other than pout and snarl on occasion, but other, minor parts are given to effective performers like Thomas Kretschmann and Terence Stamp. The action comes thick and fast and with it a great deal of heavy violence, and on a superficial level the film admittedly works. But the biggest drawback is Bekmambetov, whose excessive style makes the likes of CRANK and GAMER look like sedate Merchant Ivory productions.

Yawn...Sigh

[moreplease · 5/10 · 28 June 2008]

Like so many modern Hollywood moves "wanted" looks and sounds great but is a poorly conceived and written and is ultimately not a good movie. It's another in a long list of movies that is technically excellent but uninspired and unfulfilling.

What killed the film for me was that it was utterly ridiculous from top to bottom. From the opening scene you think you are watching something like the "Matrix" but the movie never gets around to explaining how these assassins attain superpowers. If I could train hard for a few months getting the sh*t beat out of me and bathing in krispy kreme sugar and somehow develop superpowers to defy all know laws of physics, I would get started right away. It wants to look and feel like reality, but unlike comic book movies like "Ironman", it asks you to swallow way more implausible nonsense than you may be able to stomach. In fact, "Ironman" looks like a documentary compared to this noisy, overdone "rollercoaster". I did not know going in that the movie was based on a comic about superheroes and supervillians. They should have committed more to that...there effort to make the movie "real" just made it a sloppy mess.

So it's a fantasy film that I found difficult to get into. The action is well done, the effects look great, but its another case where you are lucky not to have an epileptic fit by the first hour from all the flash cutting and gimmicks. Half the movie is in bullet time.

And then of course there is the loom, which is just a retarded concept and in the face of everything else, I found myself rolling my eyes. If they had spent half the time they spent on effects working on the story, we would all have been better off.

James McAvoy does his best with what he's given and its his performance that keeps the movie from slipping even further into the abyss. Jolie is always great but not given much to do here but look sexy...

The Garb Age

[siderite · 6/10 · 12 October 2008]

Can you combine Matrix, Elektra and Equilibrium into a completely pointless exercise that looks good but makes no sense? That was the question asked by some money makers to the director of the movie. Yes, siree, I can!

The film starts with a Matrix like scene, continues with the average man learning he is extraordinary, then switches to the group of highly trained assassins that only take "good" missions assigned to them by "fate" and continues to ridiculous gun scenes, one in which a bullet has a circular trajectory and kills everyone including the shooter. And it's all in the wrists, ladies and gentlemen!

Bottom line: stay away from this simulacrum of a movie. It's nothing but peanut butter and explosive.

a morally confused lifestyle flick with bullets as bling

[Jawsphobia · 7 August 2008]

What did you do today? Just watching a movie, going to high school, or working at McDonalds or a generic version of Office Space? Are you an impossibly pathetic character whose movie-pretty girlfriend accepts your crappy apartment by the train tracks yet hates you enough to constantly cheat with one of your co-workers? Are you buying condoms for the best chum at work you know is doing your girlfriend? Well don't worry because all the skills of an assassin are biologically determined! A few punches in the face and some exercise and you will be James Bond perfect because your absentee father was and we all know DNA is much more important than practice or discipline.

This movie gets all of its charm from the conceit that we know it is all part of the Matrix era bullet time slickness of action and the understanding that it all comes from a comic book anyway so if you have to pick someone up all you have to do is skid sideways right into the person at high speed with the door open and scoop 'em up. No danger of breaking his legs at all. And there can never be too many times two evenly matched assassins demonstrate the fact by their bullets crashing into each other harmlessly in mid flight.

Angelina Jolie has said that sure she is carrying guns in this movie but she condones what happens to the characters so she could get behind the movie. However it resolves, though, most of the movie is a loser's fantasy of having an exciting life. That might very well suit the video game audience under 25 years old. But if you can't get past the improbable efficiency of the team and the improbable stupidity of the protagonist from scene to scene, the big twist that pats itself on the head for its brilliance will seem to belong in another movie. Had the action not been so cartoonish, maybe we could believe what it purports to say. It still exists in a vacuum-sealed circle of geek-hood one expects from Agent Cody Banks. The only difference is that he is twenty-something.

The wannabe movie critics on here make me want to asassinate them

[mmassoni · 6/10 · 14 July 2019]

This movie is based on a comic book. So crying about physics and cgi is pointless.You whine about this but praise mivies like Terminator and RoboCop? Most reviewers on here are so pretentious and use words like "tripe, trope and cliche". This is a great movie. Decent adaptation of a comic book. Great action movie in general. Angelina is too skinny for you?? Go watch Girls.

Open your minds

[poyntblank64 · 8/10 · 10 July 2008]

If you watch this movie with a closed mind you might not care for it.

Just take it as it is and it is very good. The special effects are excellent and action is non-stopped. There are plenty of jaw-dropping moments in this movie.

Chances are that most of the stunts are highly unlikely, but you're watching a movie, purpose to entertain. It's like watching a superhero movie, no spiders don't make men that shoot webs, or rage that turns someone into a superhuman green giant, but they do entertain.

I was very entertained. If you like action, check this movie out and you will not be disappointed.

Male Version of "Nikita" With Gore and Special Effects

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 2 October 2008]

The anxious, clumsy and abused office clerk Wesley Allan Gibson (James McAvoy) has a hell and boring routine life: his obese boss humiliates him all the time and his girlfriend betrays him with his colleague and best friend during working period. When he meets the sexy Fox (Angeline Jolie), Wesley is informed that his father was a professional killer that belonged to an ancient organization called Fraternity and killed by the skilled and powerful Cross (Thomas Kretschmann), a hit-man that has betrayed the Fraternity. Wesley learns that his anxiety actually is a manifestation of his latent abilities and he joins the society under the command of Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Trained by Fox, he changes his personality and attitude, being prepared to face the dangerous Cross and find a hidden secret.

"Wanted" uses the storyline of "La Femme Nikita" blended with lots of gore, revenge and special effects à la "Equilibrium". The story has a good cast, with names like Terence Stamp, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie; a very high-budget; and is full of action. Viewers that like "Blockbuster Movies" probably may like this movie much more than I did. I still prefer movies based on intelligent screenplays and acting rather than in explosions and special effects. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Procurado" ("The Wanted")

Hey wait a minute, what HAVE I done lately?

[Anonymous_Maxine · 9/10 · 24 July 2008]

I wasn't excited to see Wanted. I'm back in America for the summer and I was going to the movies with a friend, and she has what can only be called an unhealthy obsession with Angelina Jolie, so of course this was at the top of the list of movies to see. Personally I don't understand a lot of the hype about her as an actor, but I have to admit she looks good with a gun so I decided to check out the movie.

In perusing some of the reviews on the IMDb, it seems that people either loved it or hated it. I liked it a lot, although you have to understand that it's what I call an over-the-top action movie, where everything is taken to the extreme (see "Shoot 'Em Up"). With movies like this the goal is spectacle, not realism. Hence all of these piddly complaints about the physics involved in bending bullets are rendered meaningless.

Why would you complain about realistic stunts when cars can flip through the air with precision and then accelerate off the side of a bus? Or when super-assassins can throw bullet curveballs? Is it not obvious what that this is not exactly cinema verite? I have to agree that some of the plot devices are a little witless (a magic loom that weaves fate? Come on...), but the action is outstanding to say the least. Angelina has clearly been working on her war face, every time she fired her gun and showed that grimace I could only imagine her in her cavernous mansion practicing for hours on end in front of a mirror, but especially in comparison to a lot of the garbage sent to theaters these days, the entertainment is high.

The movie is loud, fast, and explosive, but not exactly a cognitive workout. It's great as an hour and a half of action entertainment, and it's also fun to pick out the scenes that feed off of other films, the most obvious to me being Office Space, one of my favorite comedies.

I have only recently become aware of James McAvoy, after seeing The Last King of Scotland and Atonement (which, in a single shot, features, by McAvoy, one of the finest pieces of acting I've ever seen in a movie - see my Atonement review...), and while he doesn't exactly knock my socks off here with his performance, he's perfect for the role and pulls off a disillusioned blue-collar American perfectly. Add him to the list of British actors so talented that many moviegoers didn't even know he was British.

To a greater extent than McAvoy, obviously, the great Morgan Freeman is also clearly just having a good time here. The material is distantly below his talents, as it is for McAvoy, but at the same time, I see no reason why actors of his caliber shouldn't do a movie like this every once in a while. Shoot 'Em Up, as well, is also distantly below the talents of Clive Owen, but MAN he was good in it! Angelina Jolie, however, fits right in here, because this is the kind of movie that she is best in. I am thrilled, by the way, to have read that she has been ordered to gain weight for her next role, partly so she will be attractive again, and partly so she won't faint on set, like she did while making this movie.

At any rate, I won't say to ignore all of the bad press about the movie, because it's true that a lot of people won't like it, but it seems a perfect example of a movie that, if you go in with the right state of mind, it can be great fun. The cleverness of the highly choreographed stunts, for me, often outweighed my lack of belief. Enjoy!

Clunky script gives this action film no chance

[nicbarber · 4/10 · 27 June 2008]

I am a massive James McAvoy fan since his Shameless(UK) days, so was a bit iffy on how he would transfer to an action movie. Despite a fair performance from him (even if his American accent is hard to believe and turns back to his native Scottish every now and then), my friend who dragged me along apologised profusely once the film had finished. Here's some of my problems with the film.

1.) The Script. If the script was good, I'd be able to get over the lack a story line. It started poor, I was hoping for an upsurge, but it never came, making Jolie,McAvoy, Freeman (and the rest, including the guy from Hustle (UK) -what was his point?) just look daft.

2.) The first 20 mins, at least, is about how the main guy's life is crap. In the matrix, this lasted about 5 minutes before getting into the action.

3.) All McAvoy does in the 2nd 20 mins is scream!

4.) How much slow-motion does one director need? even the kissing scene? really!

5.) The Twist really is cringeworthy - you can tell that the script read: Cross- "Wesley, I'm your father!" Before they realised that George Lucas had already used that line, so they had to quick-change it to "You're my son!"

One redeeming feature - you get to see Morgan Freeman say 'Kill that Mother-F****r. I always knew he was Samuel L Jackson in disguise!

Action wise, it's good if a bit unbelievable, (but that's what films are for...) and the special effects are OK. Shame about the script...

Wanted Some MORE!!!

[MrJoeBlow · 10/10 · 19 June 2008]

Wanted is one of those fast, furious action movies that catches you off guard every chance it gets.

It starts off with James McAvoy playing Wesley Gibson as a bumbling nobody walking through his daily existence as someone who doesn't know the core of who he is. By the end of the film, he is a violent, magnetic presence that you can't take your eyes off. You'll truly understand why he is "The Man".

Every second is riveting... from the training scenes in which Wesley gets the crack beat out of him by the Cook to Angelina Jolie showing him the ropes in a series of awesome assassin training missions. In particular, there's one funny scene where he's recuperating in a vat of molding and sputters, "I feel good!" that had the audience in hysterics.

In all honesty, this movie is symbolizes what all action movies should be. Fun, HOT, testosterone-fueled... PLUS you get to see that sweet little bum bum of Angelina Jolie's! What's not to love about this movie? Let's hope it scores at least a $125-150 million coup Doe' tat at the box office!

Exciting movie with outstanding visual style and unstopped action

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 19 September 2008]

The motion picture concerns on a pathetic Wesley Gibson(James McAvey), he's a slacker employee, an accountant in an occupied enterprise. He's mistreated by his boss(Lorna Scott), deceived by his best friend(Chris Pratt) and his girl-sweet. He's depressed and takes anxiety pills. One day, meanwhile buying pills at the pharmacy, he encounters a gorgeous woman named Fox(Angelina Jolie). Enigmatic Fox tells Wesley which his dad was murdered on the rooftops of the Metropolitan building by a murderous named Cross(Thomas Kretschmann) and he will be his next objective. Then Gibson is recruited for the Fraternity(Common, Dato, Warren, among them), a dark organization of killers and Fox trains Gibson in order to revenge his daddy's killing . The Fraternity's chief is Sloan(Morgan Freeman) his future paternal guidance. And now Wesley alone can to control his fate and his transformation into an executioner of justice.

The film contains a plethora of thrills,chills, murders, revenge and outlandish cliffhanger situations abound. Packs noisy action, thriller and lots of blood and violence. The rate of events mingling suspense, humor,tense happenings are enhanced by extended length of hunting scenes and occasional flashes of brilliance, in special the spectacular pursuits and breathtaking train chases, including derailment.There are abundant assassinations with some creative moments wrought from heavy stylistics and plenty of comic-books and Matrix style.It succeeds in building intrigue, tension, some of comedy and cool performances. Worth it for for terse script plenty of turns and amazing twist end.

Splendid writing credits by Michael Grant, Haas and Morgan based on comic book series by Mark Miller and Jones. Exceptional musical score fitting perfectly to action by Danny Elfman and appropriate cinematography by Michael Amundsen. The picture is well directed by Russian director Timur Bekmambetov. He was hired by American producers(Gary Barber, Silvestri)after his foreign hits(Night watch I and II), though previously had been contracted by Roger Corman(The arena). Rating : Good and entertaining.

Far-fetched, guns and blood

[MAShead07 · 2/10 · 27 June 2008]

This film is saturated with absurdity, in an attempt to wow audiences with special effects they have already seen countless times in the likes of Die Hard and Bourne. Nothing new in this film, just a number of Hollywood cliché's, including the sob story told by a narrator in the third person, which ultimately turns out to be their own sob story, and even the Star Wars idea of the central character seeking to avenge their father's death, only for the villain to say "No, I am your father".

The rest of the plot comprises of special effects, absurdity (laughing AT not WITH the film), excessive blood and shooting and swearing and achieves nothing by doing so. James McAvoy totally lets himself down in this role- he was brilliant in "Last King of Scotland", but doesn't do himself justice as soon as he starts speaking in a pretty naff American accent. His character isn't that believable, and his excessive swearing makes him more unrealistic, instead of realistic. The rest of the cast, including veteran Morgan Freeman, are paper-thin characters, which also lets them down as actors. As the characters die, it is difficult to be upset as you barely know them or sympathise with them.

Although there were some interesting twists in the end, they fail to salvage a film that's only purpose was to try and lure people in with mindless violence, blood and bad language with very little substance. The script is also quite poor, like many modern action films. In my view, this is trying to outdo Goodfellas in violence, bad language and blood, but otherwise would fail miserably in competing on the scale of quality and credibility. A further demonstration of unoriginality in Hollywood film-making.

nothing special

[florianlahl-71014 · 6/10 · 8 May 2022]

If you watch the Movie solely for the entertainment aspect, this motion picture will be enjoyable. But the second you start to question the plot, the whole thing falls apart. The slight hints towards how the rest of the world interacts with the fraternity are not enough, the backstory of the fraternity itself is kind of far fetched and the decryption of the yarn as well. The self sacrifice of the female lead comes out of the blue and the payoff at the end of the movie makes the entire movie's point nonsensical as we can't see the aftermath and the effects of the actions committed by the protagonist, which in this case seems necessary for the plot. And don't even get me started on the plot conveniences. But, credit where credit is due, the sceneries of the movies were great and so was the camera perspectives. The plot twist at the end was also set up nicely.