WANTED (Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) **1/2

Rating: 6/10 (25 May 2010)

I was let down by this Russian director's vampire saga of NIGHT WATCH (2005) and DAY WATCH (2007), so I had little interest in this over-the-top actioner (the generic title did not help)that is, until I realized it was adapted from a comic-strip by the same man behind the ultra-violent superhero flick KICK-ASS (2010), which I loved.
If anything, the film is fast-paced, unrelenting in gravity-defying action a' la "The Matrix" (indeed, so extreme is the approach that this could well be dubbed "When Bullets Collide"!) and engaging enough in plot to be tolerable. Still, James McAvoy does not exactly convince as action hero – nor is Morgan Freeman credible as the brains behind a group of rigorously-trained assassins (whose severe beatings are eventually cured by undertaking a wax bath)! On the other hand, while I could not care less about the gossip-mongering style of Angelina Jolie's private life, her casting is ideal – though the role itself seems to be merely an extension of her MR. AND MRS. SMITH [2005] characterization – and slinky presence obviously easy on the eyes (the fact that an old flame of mine is not just the exact same age as Ms. Jolie but is practically her spitting image never fails to arouse yours truly!); besides, it is nice to see Terence Stamp in anything these days.
The mayhem, then, is interpolated with quirky humor (particularly involving McAvoy's messy domestic situation and his relationship with an insufferable and obese female boss) and, for what it is worth, the plot undergoes a 360-degree twist at the finale (resulting in a jaw-dropping mass execution/suicide via one solitary bullet).