Wanted enjoyably hyper-stylises its action but is plagued with an infestation of underdeveloped plot points.

Rating: 6/10 (25 September 2018)

Stylisation can be used to enhance many aspects of a film. The cinematography, sound design or even acting. In this case, it is "balls-to-the-walls" action that enables cars to flip, land on the side of a bus and dismount gracefully. So suspend your disbelief, and enjoy the brisk ride. An office worker, who essentially hates his life, discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin from a group known as the "Fraternity". This secret society train him (vigorously might I add) in an attempt to better his father. Based on the comic book miniseries that rarely anyone read, this is not a bad adaptation. The world of assassination is riddled in lore and fateful findings however these are quickly illustrated through Freeman's mesmerising monologues that release a sense of world building. There's much to learn about weaving, looms and bending bullets, and the 110 minute runtime speeds along faster than a bomb strapped to a rat. Every action sequence is stylised. From the effects of adrenaline to the shooting the wings of flies in slow motion. It consistently appears to be exciting, despite the occasional poor visual effects. Jolie is stunning, Freeman is captivating and McAvoy adores screaming and shouting in his tenuous American accent. The problem is with its structure. It is so fast paced that several aspects of the plot are not developed at all, with a few underwhelming twists. So much is spent on the training montage (nearly 25 minutes) that the actual plot feels like an afterthought. Then the final five minutes occur, supposedly hilarious harking back to a previous scene, and ends on a fourth wall break. The only thing that broke was my spine from all the potential this film squandered! Yet, it remains enjoyable nonetheless. Rapid, ridiculously crazy and with plenty of blood, especially from a keyboard smash. I can't think of another film that has assassins block bullets by shooting another bullet. Bullet blocking. "Bullocking". Actually, maybe not that last one...