Over the top and stupid, but still an entertaining action flick

Rating: 7/10 (29 June 2008)

If you go into Wanted expecting life-affirming brilliance, you will be disappointed; but if you go in expecting an adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride, you should come out at least fairly contented. The film is apparently based on some comic book and is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, a name some may recognise as the director behind Russian vampire film Night Watch and its sequel. The film is style over substance in a big way, although it does at least attempt to have some substance by way of the basic idea of a normal man living a boring life being given the chance to fulfil his destiny by way of a much more exciting life as a professional assassin. His boring life is thrown into turmoil one day when he meets the sexy Fox and, after being saved from a hit-man himself, he is recruited into a group of assassins known as The Fraternity. He is taught how to use his hidden super powers; which include the ability to slow things down, shoot bullets in a circular motion and drive rubbish cars really fast. Our hero then learns the reason he was brought in to The Fraternity and the destiny that awaits him.
The film takes on a very 'MTv' style and the action is continually paused, overloaded with CGI and/or quickly edited. Things like this usually annoy me, and with this film it does start to grate after a while; but the director actually uses these tricks fairly well (particularly in the first twenty minutes or so) which is a credit to him and the film. Once the plot kicks into action, we basically get treated to one action sequence after another and calling them 'over the top would be a gross understatement. Most of the things that happen in this film are completely ridiculous, but it soon becomes obvious that the film is not meant to be taken seriously and it's better to sit back and enjoy the ride. The plot itself has a number of holes and doesn't make complete sense when you think about it; but again, leaving your brain at the door is highly recommended. There's a couple of twists and turns along the way to keep the story interesting, and although the ending is not completely unexpected; it wraps things up nicely and overall, if you're looking for a film to entertain and not be too taxing; you could do worse than Wanted.