O Procurado

For the first half hour Wanted felt like a trailer.Adapted from a graphic novel the film never seems to settle,the actors seem ill at ease with the material and the impatience on the directors part leaves us with a messy hackneyed film of action set pieces and sci fi mumbo jumbo inbetween. The film tries far too hard to be cool which is a shame because im sure it could have been a better film if things would have just been done with a little less haste.James McAvoy,so convincing in Last King Of Scotland is hard to like in this role.Morgan Freeman seems totally non interested but to be fair hes given virtually nothing to do and just serves as filler between action scenes.Angelina Jolie is the real star of this film,she has astounding presence as an actress and suits the action genre,its just a shame we cant find a truly memorable action film for her to star in.In summary Wanted is a fast paced but legless action film that promises much but delivers very little.It leaves you wanting.

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.

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.

What did you do today? Just watching a movie, going to high school, or working at McDonalds or a generic version of Office Space? Are you an impossibly pathetic character whose movie-pretty girlfriend accepts your crappy apartment by the train tracks yet hates you enough to constantly cheat with one of your co-workers? Are you buying condoms for the best chum at work you know is doing your girlfriend? Well don't worry because all the skills of an assassin are biologically determined! A few punches in the face and some exercise and you will be James Bond perfect because your absentee father was and we all know DNA is much more important than practice or discipline.

This movie gets all of its charm from the conceit that we know it is all part of the Matrix era bullet time slickness of action and the understanding that it all comes from a comic book anyway so if you have to pick someone up all you have to do is skid sideways right into the person at high speed with the door open and scoop 'em up. No danger of breaking his legs at all. And there can never be too many times two evenly matched assassins demonstrate the fact by their bullets crashing into each other harmlessly in mid flight.

Angelina Jolie has said that sure she is carrying guns in this movie but she condones what happens to the characters so she could get behind the movie. However it resolves, though, most of the movie is a loser's fantasy of having an exciting life. That might very well suit the video game audience under 25 years old. But if you can't get past the improbable efficiency of the team and the improbable stupidity of the protagonist from scene to scene, the big twist that pats itself on the head for its brilliance will seem to belong in another movie. Had the action not been so cartoonish, maybe we could believe what it purports to say. It still exists in a vacuum-sealed circle of geek-hood one expects from Agent Cody Banks. The only difference is that he is twenty-something.

I know there is a lot of hate going around for this movie (though it oddly manages to maintain a decent rating despite the nay-saying...) but I would really urge people to watch this movie before letting the opinions of others affect their views on it. Sure, the movie takes some liberties with plot and, obviously, physics, but it makes for a fun action/popcorn movie. It is, after all, just a movie. After seeing this film, I would say it was one of the most fun action films of 2008. It's got plenty of violence and stylized action with a dose of sexuality and a decent plot...Wesley Gibson is a miserable account manager with a dead-end life until he is approached by the beautiful Fox, who informs him that his father was a master assassin who had been murdered days before. Gibson is recruited into an assassin's guild known as the Fraternity to hunt down and kill his father's murderer.

The quirk with the Fraternity is that it's assassin's have the special ability to raise their heart rate above 400 bpm, pumping incredible amounts of adrenaline into their system and giving them superhuman reaction speed...basically "bullet-time". So you can expect a lot of over-the-top stunts, including the ability to curve bullet paths. Why there has been a lot of complaints about this aspect of the movie, I don't know. It's not really over-used and it adds a cool element to the movie. The film has PLENTY of action throughout, though most of my favorite scenes were during the course of Wesley's training with the Fraternity. The film also has a "twist" ending, though it isn't difficult to see the truth coming.

For a popcorn flick, the film boasts a great cast. Morgan Freeman is Sloan, the overseer of the Fraternity, and it's the first time I've seen him in such a role. He did seem a little awkward with some of the rougher dialogue towards the end of the film (though I guess it's to be expected...I never expected to hear Freeman spouting "Kill THIS motherf***a" in a film). Angelina Jolie is wonderfully sexy as Fox, though I'm biased to the point where I'd love Jolie in just about ANY role. Rounding out the primary cast is James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson; I had not seen any of McAvoy's previous work but I loved his work in this movie. He is perfectly suited to play both the meek, anxiety-ridden account manager and the elite killer he becomes. He does a great job inducing the element of dark humor into the film with his great delivery.

While I've read quite a few complaints about this film, I can't understand why. It's a guilty-pleasure action film and it's not to meant to be taken completely seriously. It's just a MOVIE and a fun one to boot. When you watch this film, just sit back, disengage your brain, and enjoy the non-stop action and fun characters.