Goofy or Serious?

Rating: 6/10 (27 June 2008)

Lets think about this, James McAvoy has done many different genres of films and this is his first steps into action films. Looking from the trailer, he also does a good job of acting a believable American character. However, despite this and the intense action sequences of the film, Wanted ended up being a muddled mediocre film that had a lot of potential.
The plot runs around a guy named Wesley Gibson. He has a pathetic life: working under a boss that abuses him, girlfriend that is cheating on him with his best friend and so on. One day, Fox, invites him to The Fraternity which is a group of super assassins. He goes through rigorous training to attain skills which his father once had prior to being killed.
The one obvious positive point about this movie are the action sequences. It is slick, stylized and bloody. Similar to Shoot em Up, The film crams one crazy stunt after another pumping the adrenaline to the viewer. It is very fun to watch and very well choreographed.
Similarly, the film puts a big emphasis on slow motion. However this tends to be a hit or miss making the film look cool or downright silly. Scenes where the viewer see a bullet fly through space a la Matrix are very well done. However, there are also scenes where you hear characters speaking in slow motion that adds nothing but silliness.
The biggest problem with the movie is its pacing. It spends the first hour or so showing the introduction of the characters and Gibson's training in the Fraternity. The next hour presents a plot twist and the development to the final showdown. You will notice that this movie tends to focus on the story more than the action. Similarly, after the twist, it explain other aspects of the story even though you spent another chunk of time listening to the development of the characters earlier on. WIth a film that has a two hour runtime, it is rather disappointing.
Another mixed aspect of this film is the humor. With over the top action and stunt sequences, the film is riddled with silly dialogues and events. When the film wants you to take the film's story seriously, you can't help but to wonder if the dialogue is intentionally trying to be funny or not.
Overall, Wanted can be described as a action flick that contain slick and violent action but suffers from poor pacing and structure. Despite its big potential it felt like it fell down a little bit.