Thumping Good Action!

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2008)

"Wanted" is a rip-roaring thrill ride that will keep you entertained from start to finish. I'm usually a silent movie-goer so it's a testament to the excitement generated during this film that on a couple of occasions I audibly vocalised my amazement at what was happening on-screen.
The title seemed slightly arbitrary to me, but this may relate to the fact that the film is based a somewhat obscure comic-book series. However, the plot is patently derivative and owes as much to (the very over-rated) "Da Vinci Code" and (the very under-rated) "Equilibrium" as it does to the "Matrix" trilogy. But this potential weakness did little to offset my enjoyment of the story which delivers a cracking twist at a moment when you least expect it.
Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a complete loser. His overweight boss terrorises him, his best friend is sleeping with his girlfriend, he apologises way too much, and cares only about the fact that he cares about nothing.
Abruptly yanked from this humdrum existence by a shadowy band of assassins called Weavers, he learns from the leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), that he has to take the place of his long lost and recently murdered father. And so begins an inexorable advance to a showdown with his father's killer.
The phase of the plot where Wesley uncovers his father's almost supernatural legacy introduces several colourful characters, chief among which is Fox (Angelina Jolie). Powered by the seething sexual tension between them, Wesley gradually awakens to the true extent of his latent capabilities. But then again, Jolie's deliciously-tattooed hotness is enough to awaken latent capabilities (supernatural or otherwise) in anyone.
Unfortunately, intriguing plot elements like the history of the Weavers and a jaw-dropping new gun physics weren't developed more. But this is a petty point because there is already a lot of really good stuff happening in the narrative. Those plot points may contain the makings of a fan-boy sequel, but it is unlikely to attract the same stellar cast or live outside the domain of DVD-release. And that's a real pity because I do believe there is a still a solid prequel buried in there somewhere.
Visually, the movie is an achievement. CGI is powerfully employed to generate violence and car-chase imagery that pays due deference to the graphic novel genre from which the story springs. Nothing revolutionary is presented per se, but Director Timur Bekmambetov has reworked definitive elements from other films and definitely taken them up a notch.
The acting was the only truly questionable element for me. McAvoy may well be the darling of the new generation, but he looks hopelessly out of place all the way through this film. The benchmark performance for his role Was Keanu Reeves's Neo, who managed to sustain a convincing level of "engaged blank-ness" through three "Matrix" films. McAvoy by contrast seems incapable of shaking his art-house aura and makes a play for being serious. But he comes seriously undone and his fake American accent does him no favours at all. Jolie was closer to the mark and left the screen positively drenched with raw sexiness (and yes, it really is better on the big screen). Both Morgan Freeman and Terence Stamp's performances were not given enough space, although Freeman does have a delightful flourish near the end.
But despite being found "wanting" in some areas, "Wanted" is still a thumping good action movie. Watch it!