Not the Wanted I wanted

Rating: 7/10 (1 July 2008)

First of all, it is important to note that Wanted is fundamentally NOT an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name. The filmmakers may claim that they have tried to remain true to the spirit of the source material which supposedly "inspired" them, but if so, then they have signally failed in that endeavour. To be fair, I never believed that Hollywood would ever produce a faithful version of what is one of the most entertainingly twisted and blackly amusing comic books ever published. If any contemporary film industry could, only the Japanese (or perhaps the South Koreans) might have given a good account of themselves in producing a cinematic translation of Wanted. Just look at the sort of stuff Takashi Miike puts out, for example. As it is, the film we have got has a radically different plot  there are no superheroes, fair enough, there were none in the comic  but only because Earth's supervillains had teamed up and brutally killed them all. In this movie, the Fraternity is not an organisation of supervillains glorying in the gratification of their worst impulses, with the tacit acceptance of the world's governments and law enforcement agencies  no, instead they're a brother(and sister)hood of assassins dedicated to the enforcement of "Justice" as decreed by "Fate" itself. Sorry, but that's a much weaker concept than the original Illuminati-esquire cabal of evil b*****ds who act out the maxim "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" so infamously proselytised by Aleister Crowley.
Wesley Gibson, as played by the ubiquitous James McAvoy, is, when we first encounter him, the same self-effacing, disgustingly humble wage slave that will be familiar to readers of the graphic novel, albeit not in appearance  as drawn by the original artist, Wesley clearly resembled Eminem, and, of the other principal characters, The Fox was the spitting image of Halle Berry and Wesley's dad, "The Killer", bore more than a passing resemblance to Tommy Lee Jones. So with this flick we don't get the ideal casting as envisaged by the comic's creators. Well, such is life, and Mr. McAvoy is a decent and engaging actor who acquits himself very well here. Next up is Angelina Jolie, playing the appropriately-named Fox, whose introductory scene is sadly not as memorable as that in the comic, wherein her character slaughters the entire staff and clientèle of a franchise sandwich shop simply in order to intimidate Wesley and because she can. In the movie she first shows up to protect Wesley from the murderous attentions of the man who killed his father. Oh well, at least Angelina is as easy on the eyes as ever and approaches the material with aplomb. Lastly, we have Morgan Freeman as the head of the New York chapter of the Fraternity and mentor to young Wesley. Mr. Freeman could play this role in his sleep  thankfully, he doesn't, and instead puts as much energy and conviction as he can muster into his performance. My only cavil with his portrayal here is that there's something fundamentally unlikely about Morgan Freeman saying "motherf**ker" that had me snickering with disbelief. He certainly doesn't sound comfortable saying the word.
Some of the gloriously foul-mouthed banter from the comic book survives, much to my relief. The character of Mr. Rictus is sadly absent from the film, so we don't get his hilarious rejoinder, "I don't f**k goats, Mister Gibson. I make love to them." And Wesley's closing speech, though one of the more enjoyable pieces of dialogue in the movie, is nowhere near as cool as that in the graphic novel.
Another problem with this flick is that it suffers from the modern malaise  it's too PC. Not an accusation that could have been levelled at the source material. Fans of the comic will note, amongst other changes, that Wesley's overweight harridan of a boss has suddenly become white rather than black  presumably so that he can, figuratively speaking, bite her head off without the chattering classes claiming that the film is "racist". Similarly, the "cholo" characters that harass Wesley daily and later receive their deserved comeuppance are noticeable by their absence.
The fly scene, however, is present and correct, showing as it does that Wesley has inherited his old man's skills as an assassin. So, too, are the "decoy" scene (in an amended form) and the shooting range with human cadavers as targets. The guy who beats up Wesley in order to teach him to overcome his fear of being hit doesn't meet the same fate as in the graphic novel and that's a shame, as it was much more satisfying than what happens to him in this film. The newly-bad-assed Wesley also doesn't shoot his so-called best friend in the face and drop his body in a dumpster when he decides he wants payback for the latter's having been rooting Wes's girlfriend behind his back for months on end. Somehow smacking the fellow with an ergonomic keyboard seems like rather a wimpy alternative. The cinematic Wanted does, however, feature the best use I've seen of exploding rats since "Botched". The scenes featuring the loom which dictates the directives of impersonal Fate are visually impressive, as are those where Wesley single-handedly storms the factory building after his rodents have softened the place up.
Whoever selected Timur Bekmambetov as director for Wanted had obviously been paying close attention to his work on Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch, and he brings the same visual flair to this flick as he did to those, coupled with striking cinematography courtesy of Mitchell Amundsen. To sum up, Wanted is a decent action film with an amusingly ludicrous plot, memorable special effects, gorgeous visuals and good photography. It's worth seeing on the silver screen just for the spectacle - but don't read the comic first, or you'll be constantly aware of what you're missing.