Wanted

Rating: 7/10 (27 September 2008)

Wanted
Wanted is one of the biggest blockbusters of 2008. It was based on loosely on the comic book miniseries by Mark Miller. It was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, and this was his first American film after the very popular Russian film series, Night Watch. It made over 50 million in its first week and came in second at the box office.
Wesley Gibson(McAvoy) is a nobody trapped in a boring world. His wife cheats on him, his best friend is a backstabber, and he has a boss that won't get off his back. When an assassin named Fox(Jolie) tries to initiate him into the Fraternity, his life is changed forever. He learns that his father was one of the best assassins in the world, and he must no walk in his footsteps. He leaves his nothing life and joins the Fraternity. He must undergo a grueling initiation, and then hunt down the man that killed his father.
Wanted has decent character development. Wesley Gibson is a three-dimensional main character. He has problems with his drone life, and has a desire to get out of it, but never tries to do anything about it until the assassins come along. He is given unique personality traits like apologizing too much, and this does become funny later in the movie when it becomes sarcastic. Wesley changes a lot in the movie, something that is missing from most action flicks. The problem with the character development is that supporting characters are lacking. Sloan(Freeman) is the leader of the fraternity, and he doesn't become anything more than Morgan's usual Mr.Wise. A secret about him is revealed at the end, but it still doesn't help too much. Fox doesn't become anything more than the awesome assassin. The only thing they did to help develop her was to give her some background information. She could'vie had less development, but she still needed more. Cross, the man who we think is the main enemy, isn't very well developed either. He is in the same boat as Fox. He's given background information, but is rarely seen doing something other than shooting a gun. The other fraternity members don't have any characterization at all, like the Repair Man and the Gunsmith. Some of the characters are even stereotypes, like the mean boss and the snobby girlfriend.
Wanted has a good plot. It is structured well, with Wesley not being able to turn back after Act 1, and a great setup for the climax after Act 2. There is even symbolism in the movie with a draw bridge coming apart. It symbolized the end of Wesley's old life. There are many obstacles put in Wesley's path of killing Cross. The screenwriter made sure that becoming a Fraternity member wasn't an easy challenge. Wesley has to suffer through multiple beatings, fighting an expert with knives, and other grueling challenges. There is a great twist in the middle of the movie, which made the movie way better. The ending is very entertaining. It starts off with a big bang that was planted since the beginning of Wesley's life with the Fraternity. There is constant fighting with some very creative kills. There is even a very nice trap set for the lead villain. One problem was that the action was either overdone or illogical in parts. In one scene, Wesley hits a man with a keyboard, and letters fly off spelling a phrase I'm not aloud to repeat. Also, some of the car stunts are stretched too far.
Wanted does have unique settings. Wesley's apartment being next to a train is a good setting because it shows how sad his life is and foreshadows later events. The office is a good place to show how average his life is. The textile mill is a good place to put the Fraternity as it seems true to what the Fraternity is about. The meat packing part of the Fraternity is cool also and makes for a good place to fight. The battle on the train was good for the hot spot of the middle, and it was even better to place to on thin tracks going across two mountains. This leads to much more tension in the battle when the train falls off.
Wanted has a very good director. It was a smart choice to pick a foreign director to get a new perspective on things. There is good lighting. It's bleak in Wesley's apartment, well lit in the office(like all of them), and it is about as dark as it should get The director does a good job of adding to the atmosphere. In the beginning we feel like we're stuck in a suck life. The Fraternity has a gritty, yet stylish feel to it. The music in Wanted is great, and it adds a lot to the atmosphere. We also have a few good rock songs thrown into the mix.
The special effects aren't award winning, but they're good. The train falling off the tracks and cars jumping over each other look believable. The sound editing is good too, with the sounds of bullets hitting people and cars running into each other sounding very real.
The acting is great. Morgan Freeman is always a good actor, although I would like to see him in a different role. James McAvoy played a great lead, reminiscent Edward Norton in Fight Club. Angelina Jolie was the weakest of the group, but she was still believable. She also should'vie been the weakest as she had worse material to work with than McAvoy. The minor actors, like Wesley's best friend, do good jobs.