Matrix meets Fight Club

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 2008)

To be sure, this movie has tremendous parallels to The Matrix. The action scenes are thorough (and a little too long) but clearly show the work of an exceptional stunt and spec. eff. team. There are parts of the story which should have been developed better. And the writers tried to create (unsuccessfully) an Armageddon scenario.
Cons: There is simply way too much graphic violence. People die in action films. But so many die in Wanted and the bullet to the head scenes are just over the top and way too frequent. They also use the CSI effect of travelling with the bullet through its "target" and out the other side, gratuitous splatter included, about two dozen times. There is also a lot of non-fatal violence which adds to the story but also gets excessive; lot's and lot's of lacerations, with good and chilling knife-like sound effects.
Then there is the F-word. This film has no deficiency of F and MF. It's just too much. Here and there, OK, that will work. But it seems like the writers had a love affair with Howard Stern and it found its way in to the movie.
If you like Angelina Jolie, you'll enjoy the brief view of her semi-clothed back side. She plays the same kind of tough but sophisticated chick as in the one she did with Pitt a few years back.
I characterize the movie as Matrix meets Fight Club. It's dark, twisted, and violent with good guys vs. bad guys. The climactic twist, like Fight Club, caught me by surprise and I thought it was very smartly inserted.