Boring crud on a lavish budget

Rating: 3/10 (15 July 2008)

There is nothing I despise more than how popular culture has redefined "cool". In days not so long ago, "cool" meant an absence of heat. If something was cool, it was tepid, mild, even subdued. Now, "cool" in movies is when you kill somebody and behave indifferently to your action. A "cool" character blows a hundred people away, but acts if he just stepped out for a smoke. I resent the crushing of human emotions. I'm peeved at a culture that finds emotional indifference attractive. I like cinematic killing as much as, if not more than, the next guy, but the films I love focus on emotions associated with killing. If they don't focus on the emotions of killing or raping, they don't depict emotionless killers as cool. One example of the former is Chow Yun Fatt's hit-man character in John Woo's "The Killer". He is struggling with the moral decisions of his profession. He gets involved with the nightclub singer because he feels guilt for having blinded her. His internal struggle is the key to the film's emotional power. I preface my review of 'Wanted" with the above rant because "Wanted" annoyed me. It is a slick, expensive, disposable action movie that equates killing and destruction with "cool". I know it's just a movie, but so what!, it's an empty movie, and I'd like it more if it didn't pretend that human emotions don't exist. The special effects are impressive (they should be for the budget!) and the performances are OK, but the climax is rubbish and the attempt at being meaningful is a dead loss because we've spent ninety minutes with character who are little more than stick figures with pistols. Ultimately, this film is boring, and I can't help thinking that gamers, who'd probably prefer an interactive experience, anyway, will have seen it all before.