Fantastic.

Rating: Null/10 (1 July 2008)

I quite enjoyed this film. First off I would say that one needs to go into it with the proper expectations. This is an action movie people, not Fellini. But, what I consider the "new generation" of action movies. It may be rife with explosions and car chases, but it's still got an intelligent edge to it. There is some wonderful subtle humour which I completely appreciated.
James McAvoy (my new favourite actor) plays Wesley Gibson who is feeling very much like a cog in the proverbial machine. Or perhaps even just a bolt on said cog. His job sucks, his girlfriend sucks, his apartment sucks... you get the point. The thing I found refreshing was that McAvoy portrays this role very convincingly and naturally. You don't feel it's contrived or forced at all. He IS Wesley Gibson. Ever since Office Space and Fight Club, Hollywood has caught on to and played off the concept of the anonymous office underdog becoming the hero. It may be something many people can relate to, but those of us who can relate to that feeling of lost identity in the cubicle farms of America also DON'T appreciate being pandered to. This is what makes McAvoy's performance so brilliant in this film - he is utterly natural. He even had me cheering aloud for Wesley's triumphs at a few points! The basic setup is this: Wesley Gibson suddenly finds his droll life flipped upside down when he is told that he is the son of the greatest assassin that ever lived... and now he is being recruited by an order of assassins to join the ranks. Gibson is faced with the classic internal struggle of whether to take a leap of faith and leave the comfort of his current life (which he hates), or take the easy road and stay safe... and miserable.
Angelina Jolie plays one of the aforementioned assassins. I am not a big fan of hers. She's not a bad actress per se, but is highly overrated - and frankly not all that versatile either. In this role like most others, she's still very much Angelina rather than her character "Fox," which is her biggest weakness. That being said though, she actually toned things down and managed to not try to steal the show from the leads. There is some nice backstory on Fox which lends to your interest in the character.
Morgan Freeman is lovely as always. I don't think this man could turn in a bad performance if he tried. His character is also well written with some good details adding to the depth of his performance. Terrence Stamp also makes an appearance, leading to an all out well-rounded cast.
My only gripe about the film is that the end did seem to drag out a tiny bit. There's a bit that I figured was the end... and actually would have totally been fine with it ending there and leading to a sequel (even with a very obvious lead up like that). This happened twice, sadly.
Overall though, the action sequences were fairly original in both setup and cinematography, the dialog was realistic with a dash of wit, and the subtext of the internal struggle to both find oneself and push oneself to strive for higher goals was a much appreciated and integral addition to the film.
A good time through and through. Go see it.