Wanted

Slick but over-stylised action flick from the Russian director behind the NIGHT WATCH movies. Plot-wise, WANTED borrows heavily from both LEON and THE MATRIX in the story of a young, slightly nerdy man working in a dead end office job who finds himself being indoctrinated into a world of assassins and massive, CGI-heavy action sequences. What follows is extremely fast paced, never for a moment realistic, and full of the kinds of unbelievable OTT scenarios that will give even the most hyperactive child a headache. We've got cars rolling through the air, trains dropping through the sky and, in the film's neatest concept, bullets that can actually bend around obstacles.

WANTED is given some decent credibility thanks to the actors who populate the parts. James McAvoy is fine for the most part, apart from a single car chase in which he screams and whines like a girl for the entire duration. Morgan Freeman sleepwalks through his role and Angelina Jolie is given little to do other than pout and snarl on occasion, but other, minor parts are given to effective performers like Thomas Kretschmann and Terence Stamp. The action comes thick and fast and with it a great deal of heavy violence, and on a superficial level the film admittedly works. But the biggest drawback is Bekmambetov, whose excessive style makes the likes of CRANK and GAMER look like sedate Merchant Ivory productions.

Putting it bluntly, 'WANTED' was a rather formulaic and predictable outing. A loserly, office shut-in with the help of a hot babe learns about his past and is suddenly thrust into the world of assassination, a world of flipping cars, extreme gun fights, and mind-altering stunts, thus shedding every bit of his shy, weak self. This we've all seen before.

Where 'WANTED' stands apart from any other action film I've seen is in its style. The director has upped the ante on how the action is portrayed. Gone are any sort of boundaries. This is a world where people can flawlessly flip cars over others and land perfectly upright on the other side, where people can shoot from miles away hitting nothing but their target, where people can put such a curve on bullets that they hit multiple targets standing on different planes all with one shot. If people can really do this, perhaps I'm living the same existence as Wesley, and I'm missing out. The film's major selling point is its style and its worth a viewing simply for that.

The A-List cast delivers solid performances, but the script they are given - with the exception of the last line uttered in the film - is mostly generic. James McAvoy is sympathetic and relatable as the guy who is overwhelmingly bored with his life but doesn't know how to change it - something many people understand. His transformation into tough guy is effortless and convincing. Angelina Jolie is Fox - a name quite fitting as Jolie looks fantastic; however, we've seen this character on her before. Still, she does it well. Freeman, as usual, injects intelligence into his role, playing the solemn leader of The Fraternity.

However, for all the edgy extreme events the film contains, the film is hurt by some pieces that are just plain odd and are never fully explained. For one, The Fraternity gets their targets from a secret code that is woven into tapestries by The Loom of Fate. Sounding like something from a Monty Python sketch, it is never revealed who - if anyone - controls the loom or where it derives its powers. Names are simply revealed through code and the members of The Fraternity don't ask questions. The members of The Fraternity are fully human, but seemingly invincible thanks to some sort of special wax bath devised to heal wounds very quickly. It's the film's easy out that allows them to deliver the goods on all the high-octane action they desire. Lastly, the film turns a very predictable corner that many will see coming from miles away.

When the film ends you will realize how simple it is and how ridiculous it is about 75% of the time, but you won't care. The film makes up for every flaw by smearing the screen with mind-bending stunts, unique filmography, and breathtaking visuals - yes, Ms. Jolie is one of them. It will be painfully obvious that all the simple plot details were just the framework and the real substance of the film lies not in its intricate story, but in the execution of its stunts and action. 7/10.

'Wanted' is a film that's having too much fun not to like. Who cares about the impossibility of bullet bending when most audiences accept superheroes with inhuman powers and strengths based on comic book characters. As with those comic book films, it's just a work of fiction and fantasy, and since 'Wanted' doesn't take itself at all seriously, then you can suspend utter disbelief. The casting and performances are all spot on, above all James McAvoy who delivers one of his best performances in his career so far, even if the might not be the best film he's been in. Stylish, funny, competently directed and paced, this is a great action flick with an ordinary story that is more than the sum of its parts due to slick a execution.

Right first things first this is an extremely enjoyable action movie, but for it to work for you must suspend your sense of disbelief. With this done there is much to be enjoyed here. The premise of an agent order of assassin weavers is lets face it pretty ropey, and I am not sure how true it is to the comic source material (which I will probably dig out at some point), and Morgan Freeman is really playing it by numbers here. But we have some amazing and original action sequences that really do move the movie on at a frenetic pace. Yes we can see the massive influence of 'The Matrix' and 'Fight Club' and lets just hope if there are sequels they do not go the way of the shoddy follow ups to the Matrix. I like the fact that some of the characters are played by different actors than your normal action movie types, though to be honest I am not sure about McAvoy's American accent, though he handles everything else well. Still much better than your average action movie and worth repeat viewings if you are a fan of the genre.

I guess this is my first moment I want to comment on the movie. The reason for that is all those negative comments.

People don't like the idea of a man making a giant leap across buildings, about the "plot of the world" and the ridicule in the movie.

But at the same time I guess they DID like Trinity's jump in Matrix, destiny (sadame) in any Japanese movie or comedy of Mr and Mrs Smith.

COME ON PEOPLE! This is NOT James Bond, Bourne or Die Hard. This is exactly the opposite. This movie in my opinion simply tries to make fun of all those movies. It's all a sarcastic view of today's action movies. Just like the bullets - bent to the fullest. For me it's more of an action comedy. The ideas are so stupid that it's funny. Why? Because it was fit in the action movie. I mean come on - the loom, the bullets, the healing stearine, the rats... How can you ever compare it to any action movie that tries to be serious? This is not trying to do that.

That's why I liked this movie - for its intelligent sarcasm and probably because of all the negative comments from people that expected a "mature action movie" and didn't understand the movie.