Wanted

Took me a while to see this film and it was only by chance i did see it. Totally didnt realise Timur Bemambetov directed (I love Nightwatch) so it should have been a must see alone on that.

The action sequences are great and work perfect not revolutionary but great bullet-time. McAvoy is a convincing good guy turned bad by the Fraternity and hey you can actually relate to his character unlike some films.

Next stop is to finish the graphic novel which seems a lot different but both are still good in their own way

http://robinollysays.blogspot.com

that’s some of the best gun play you’ll see until the matrix 4.  awesome stunts.  visually it’s very pleasing.

secret fraternity of assassins is a cool thing to make a movie about.  throw in some angelina jolie and the ability to bend bullets and you’ve got youself one pretty decent action flick.

the voice over parts kinda irritated me.  but i’m kinda irritated by most voice overs unless they are really good.  the shawshank redemption features some voice over and it’s really, really good.  not so much in this one.  but this is a different type of movie.

just look at the pretty pictures and awesome action sequences.  don’t pay any attention to the fact that some nerdy cubicle dweller just transformed into a ruthless, no pain feeling, bad assed killer in twenty minutes….

it’s more entertaining than hancock.

oh, they showed the trailer for the new bond flick.  looks pretty cool other than the title was so gay i can’t even remember what it was.

jason statham’s new movie looks kick ass.  kind of a running man type of deal where they let convicts race cars with machine guns on tv for the chance to escape prison.

Cal Reed

Basic Premise:

An everyday wage slave, Wesley Gibson has just been sucked into the life as an assassin. Now he must learn to kill or be killed as the assassin's assassin is after him.

Tidbit:

According to my husband who read the comic (and wasn't that fond of it), this movie is much like Jumper in the fact that it took the basic premise from the written text and that's about it. There are very few similarities (or so he said) between the movie and the comic. In his mind, that was a good thing. :)

Review:

One word describes the movie best:
OUCH!
There was a lot of wincing going on in this movie... from the audience I mean. I love a good amount of violence in my action movies, don't get me wrong, but this one will have the hardiest violence monger saying, "DAMN!".

On that note, unless you are in the habit of taking your child to see violent movies and know they can handle it, I wouldn't recommend this film for kids. It may be based on a comic, but it was violent as hell. And this is lifelike, 'I could probably do that if I tried' type of violence.

There is a plot. A flimsy one but a plot, nonetheless. This movie requires you to take disbelief and not only suspend it but hold it to the ceiling with fifty rolls of duct tape.

If you can do that, then the movie is great. Unlike Jumper(hey, I started the comparison, might as well keep it up), everything is explained. There are no dangling threads. You won't leave the theater wondering about any character. And it even looks like they left room for a sequel.

For mindless violence and fun special effects, this is the movie to see.

D. Renee Bagby<br />
Building New Realms of Passion<br />
http://dreneebagby.com

A friend of mine used to have a game he called “Who can take the hardest punch?”. I never played. But something of that game’s mixture of violence, posturing and borderline personality disorder came back to me as I watched Wanted. This is a movie made for boys: full of guns, knives, fast cars and explosive women. People get punched in this movie so hard and so regularly that you might fear for their looks, if they weren’t part of a fantasy universe. Blood doesn’t signal a wound in Wanted, it’s more like lipstick. The hero doesn’t have sex; he has the crap kicked out of him.

A thousand years ago (so the credits tell us) a group of weavers created a secret society of assassins to protect the world from evil. What the hell weavers (weavers?!) know about killing people, I’ve no idea. But go with it. Our movie begins with a bloodbath. An angry-looking man in a dark suit gets his brains blown out. Angelina Jolie tells James McAvoy the angry dude was McAvoy’s father. No time to mourn daddy, ’cos the guy who killed him wants McAvoy dead too. After that it’s mayhem… Ok, more mayhem. McAvoy learns the way of the assassin and he Kicks Some Ass!

In a factory someplace – where they built Angelina Jolie – they built her with a movie like Wanted in mind, and it worked. Angelina makes perfect sense in Wanted. People have tried in the past to cast her as a woman. And ok, all joking aside, it worked once or twice. But she’s best playing Angelina, the lioness… ageless, sensual, thrilling to behold. There’s a great scene in Wanted where McAvoy (who’s us) asks Angelina if she ever dreams of a normal life, and she looks at him – all cheekbones – and it’s as if she doesn’t even need to answer. She looks normal when she’s leaning out a car window, dressed in couture and blasting a shotgun at a psycho. That’s her normal. There isn’t any need for her character to have a character in Wanted. Once they cast Angelina, it’s like the movie became background for what we dream of as her everyday life.

James McAvoy (who some may remember as Mr Tumnus) has been living at the gym, evidently, since getting cast in Wanted. He has a shirt-off seen that should please his admirers, and he handles guns like someone reared on John Woo. But he’s still best as an ordinary schlub. McAvoy starts the movie with a complexion like used toilet paper. His eyes are ground into his skull and he looks like he wants to die. What’s great is way the movie plays like a young man’s fantasy of life-as-an-action-movie. McAvoy literally wakes up one morning with a gun in his pocket and Angelina Jolie waiting outside. He seems giddy here, and a little smug, like the 15-year-old who knows he’s entitled to everything. Even when he’s being beaten to a pulp, you know he likes it: what boy doesn’t enjoy rough-housing with the other kids?

Action scenes are ten-a-penny in Wanted, and everything is done twice (in case you don’t appreciate the awesomeness first time around). The director, Timur Bekmambetov, has a thing for playing with time, so you get a lot of slow-motion, the better to savour heads exploding and cars flipping over other cars. Untold numbers of civilians are killed, but the movie doesn’t worry in the slightest about them. There’s a typical scene where a packed passenger train is obliterated, and the only people we’re supposed to care about are the two who caused the train to be destroyed.

In the game “Who can take the hardest punch?” the rules were simple: you got hit by the other guy until you couldn’t take getting hit anymore. It was all about not thinking too much. If you thought about it, you’d stop. Wanted is like that. Step back from this movie and it’s nonsense; a lot of blood spurts with some acting in-between. But if you don’t think about it – if you think like a boy – it’s great fun. Guns in this movie are no more real than two fingers and a thumb. James McAvoy plays at being an assassin. His co-star is Lara Croft. This movie is a video game waiting to happen.

BOTTOM LINE: The stylish, comic book action in "Wanted" is fun for a while but this well cast film is ridiculous and stupid, wearing out its welcome about half way through its running time.

THE GOOD: There’s a stylish, comic book action quality to “Wanted” that throws you off a little bit when you first see it but then becomes quite fun as the story develops. The idea of a secret fraternity of assassins is a cool place to start an action film, and the filmmakers have another ace in the hole by selecting a stellar cast to populate the assassin characters. James McAvoy stars as Wesley Gibson, an average guy, stuck in a dead end job, his best friend is having an affair with his girlfriend and his life is generally going nowhere. His life takes a dramatic turn when one of the assassins from the fraternity tries to kill him but is saved by Fox (played by a very cool Angelina Jolie). She brings him to meet Sloan (played enigmatically by Morgan Freeman) who tells Wesley that he is destined to be an assassin. After going through the requisite training, Wesley becomes a very talented assassin but becomes embroiled in a plot where nothing is as it seems to be. The best parts of this film relate to its premise and action sequences. The film is fast and furious, with fast editing, fast action, and well choreographed stunts. One assassination where Wesley kills his target by getting his car flipped over the top of the target’s sun-roof is particularly fun. It’s great to see Morgan Freeman actually playing a villain; he delivers a rather understated, but ruthless performance. The film never drops its pace while offering some moments of comedy in between the big action sequences; the best moment comes when Wesley returns to his apartment to get his father’s gun and his girlfriend starts telling him how much of a loser he is. Fox walks in and start kissing Wesley passionately, much to his girlfriend’s dismay and jealousy.

THE BAD: “Wanted” has an adolescent thrill that is okay for the first half hour but it quickly degenerates in to complete stupidity. The basic premise for the whole film is the assassins choose targets based on the names generated from a weaving in a textile fabric that is randomly generated at their hideout. In essence, those targets are based on fate. On first glance, it’s hard to see how a group of otherwise intelligent people would be naïve enough to believe in this ideal for a thousand years without the possibility of corruption (as happens in the film). It’s even more incredible that none of the assassins, until Wesley shows up, ever question Sloan’s credibility given he’s the only one who ever has access to the weaving room that generates the names of the targets. The film’s problems unfortunately do not end there. James McAvoy is a solid actor but even he cannot elevate the pathetic direction his character is given in the first half of the film. I wanted to shoot him; but even if you can stand to watch him being such a walk-over loser, the film expects you to believe that he could go from that character to one of the most lethal assassins in history in just six weeks. Once he becomes the assassin he’s quite cool but his character and development is ridiculous. Angelina Jolie is lethal and cool in this film, but she isn’t given much to do aside from look hot and kick ass in the action sequences. Terence Stamp surprisingly appears midway through the film and is excellent, but you have to wonder why he agreed to be in this ridiculous adolescent fantasy; he just doesn’t fit in. Even Morgan Freeman, who is for the most part great, delivers a speech at the end of the film where he does not look all that natural. The action sequences, which are the biggest selling point in this film, become more and more ridiculous as the film progresses. The train sequence is perhaps the worst culprit when it derails on a bridge going over a massive gorge. Train cars hang off the bridge and people shoot at each other as each train car plummets in to the gorge; it’s fun but it’s over the top. Perhaps the worst thing of all is the last shot in the film; Wesley gives a speech about how pointless his life used to be and how all of us are now suffering what he used to suffer. His choice was to do something about it and now he lives the exciting life of an assassin. He turns to the camera and says, “what have you done lately?” Ordinarily, the point would have been absolutely true, but considering the film is so stupid and the delivery of his speech so condescending, the question he poses is like a slap in the face rather than a revelation. At that point, I almost hoped an assassin’s bullet put him out of his misery, as with the rest of this silly film.

RATING: 4/10

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

This is another comic book adaptation in the veins of Sin City and 300 that I really enjoy. Angelina Jolie, who looks really skinny, headlines the casting bill on posters. It is actually Scottish James McAvoy who is the star here with some semi-method acting and a believable American accent. Put aside your world logic and just believe in the world of Wanted, this is the only way you will enjoy the slick and stylish action scenes which combines The Matrix, 300 and John Woo through the visually creative and wicked mind of Russion Timur Bekmambetov. I have not seen his Nightwatch and Daywatch yet. I will, I promise. Morgan Freeman always secures the God-like status position in almost every film he is in. Angeline Jolie does not appear much but when she does, I just sit still in awe of her coolness. This is also the first time I have seen an imported film in Malaysia with audio profanities censored by muting and the visual ones by blurring. Bring that on for every upcoming film!

Rating: 8/10

James McAvoy takes on his first major action role in Wanted, this summer's first over the top special effects extravaganza. We have already seen plenty of movies this summer that are action packed and often unbelievable, but only Wanted and it's total disregard for the irrefutable laws of physics made my jaw drop and my eyes widen. McAvoy stars as Wesley Gibson, a bored accountant with a wretched boss, a cheating girlfriend, and no discernible talents that separate him from the faceless crowd of people that work in the cubicles around him. But Wesley's life soon becomes a lot more exciting after a fateful trip to the supermarket. While picking up his annual refill of anxiety medication, he gets caught in the crossfire between two assassins, Fox (Angelina Jolie) and Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). After a well shot car chase, Fox rescues Wesley and brings him to The Fraternity, a group of elite assassins that has been in existence for centuries. Members of the Fraternity have been trained to perform the amazing (and physically impossible) feat of curving bullets to hit targets at any angle. Wesley is then introduced to Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the leader of the Fraternity. Sloan tells Wesley his father was killed by Cross, the assassin that was in the supermarket. Cross had gone rogue and began shooting down Fraternity members one by one. Now he wanted Wesley to hone in his unknown ability to become a great assassin like his father, and track down Cross before he destroys the Fraternity completely.

The last time I saw James McAvoy was in 2006's The Last King of Scotland. In that performance, he proved to me that he was an acting force that would rip through Hollywood like a storm. I was surprised he did not receive an Oscar nomination along with Forest Whitaker in that film. Wanted is a total change of direction for the Scottish actor, and he handles the task like a seasoned professional, really falling into the persona of an ass kicking machine. Although he couldn't quite deliver those one line catch phrases that every action hero always has, he did deliver everything else needed to create an interesting and likeable character that can make even the most gruesome murder look awesome. McAvoy is a tremendous talent and he will carry on a successful career as both an action star and serious actor for many years to come. Angelina Jolie, no stranger to the action hero role takes up the supporting spot in Wanted as Fox, the assassin who trains Wesley to become a killing machine. Her character was a bit one dimensional, but she played the part well and brought what was needed to the table. I'm one of the few men in the world who don't find Jolie attractive, so I couldn't really appreciate the whole "sexy empowered female" aspect of the character. Morgan Freeman is Fraternity leader Sloan and much like Jolie, doesn't bring a lot of dynamics to the film. He plays the part that he was hired to play and that was all. Wanted was basically James McAvoy's opportunity to show off his slick action hero side. That's good enough for me.

Wanted marks the American film debut of Russian-Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov. I do not know what Bekmambetov's Night Watch series is like because I have not seen it, but from watching Wanted I can tell that he is skilled in the art of overblown action sequences. Him and Michael Bay should hang out. The use of slow motion during fight scenes surprisingly does not get boring and dry, which is good because that effect is used often. The way cars fly through the air in such awkward fashions and then miraculously land right side up is a bit too much like a video game, because it is simply not possible. But plausibility has no business being in this film. It's main purpose is to inspire awe and make ones' adrenaline start pumping, and that's what it did. Although the action sequences in Wanted were top notch, the pacing of the film was a bit erratic. I think Bekmambetov became too intent on keeping the film fast paced, and as a result created a movie that felt rushed. I never thought I would say this about a movie, but perhaps he should have made the film 15 minutes longer to make the transitions a bit easier to handle. The story's progression developed fully, but in a very hasty fashion that did irk me a little bit. Wanted was written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, the team that wrote the amazing 3:10 to Yuma remake and the not so amazing 2 Fast 2 Furious sequel. Adapting from the comic book series, Brandt and Haas did an excellent job of creating interesting dialogue and keeping a (somewhat) sensible storyline. The twist ending that they wrote was not predictable, and it made for a satisfying resolution.

Now, I really did truly enjoy Wanted. It is one of the best action films I have seen recently. But on top of that, I also got a 99 in physics. And I hate to be "this guy", but I can disprove the whole idea of bending bullets with an explanation right now. So I will. (If you are not interested in a science lesson, please proceed to the next paragraph). The laws of motion state that, for example, if a ball enters a semi-circular tube resting on top of a table, it will obviously follow the path of the tube because it has no other choice. But once that ball reaches the end of the tube, it will not continue following the circular path it was on inside the tube. Instead it will simply roll straight at the point where it was released. The same principle applies for a bullet. If you are flicking your wrist and pulling the trigger, the bullet is obviously moving with the gun because it is still inside the barrel. But once the bullet exits the barrel, it does not continue following the path of the gun. It will go straight at the point from which it exits. Unless my physics teacher lied to me, I'm 95% sure that I'm correct.

Laws of physics aside, Wanted is an exciting summer thriller that will astonish you with impressive stunts and sequences. The 110 minute runtime goes by pretty quickly because of the hasty direction I mentioned earlier, so that gives you one good thing from one bad thing. Don't expect anything more than a good time when you go to see Wanted, and if you ask me, a good time is all you should want from a summer film. My rating (8/10)

My goodness was it so good to get to action going this weekend! After watching the drama Little Children and the chick flick Bride Wars, I’m in need of something a bit more my speed.
Wanted is based on a comic, but I had never heard of it until the film came out, so I can’t tell you how close or far from the source material it strayed. I do know that Fox is supposed to be African-American, though. For some reason they felt the need ot change her to Angelina Jolie. Quite honestly, I understand they wanted the big name, but I don’t think it affected the box office performance one way or the other. Of course, now that I think about it, they did make sure to have the scene with her getting out of the baths in the trailer, which may have drawn in many a horny male.
This film is primarily action with dialogue and plot second. This is totally out of character for me, but I think we could have done with a bit more story as opposed to action. I say that becuse many of the scenes were just rehashes of stuff we’ve seen earlier or they had no real reason to even be there.
A friend of mine really liked this film, but couldn’t handle the violence. For me, it wasn’t that violent, sure a couple of people got shot in the head, but there are plenty of more violent films out there. I should preface that by saying, I don’t cringe at violent films and my friend is really on the conservative side when it comes to her movies. I’m surprised she sees anything not rated G.
The acting here isn’t anything to write home about, but they do what they can do. James McAvoy isn’t your typical leading man, but he seems to know what to do as a leading man. Angelina Jolie was obivoulsy cast for her looks, becuse she doesn’t do much in the way of acting. Although, the car chase scene when she first appears is pretty awesome. Common could have done with a bigger role, in my opinion. Morgan Freeman can do no wrong. The man can read the phone book and leave an audience captivated.
Rumors have recently picked up steam that there will be a sequel. I have my own personal issues with sequels. I don’t despise them like I do remakes and reboots, but I’m of the belief that if you’re going to make a sequel, especially with a comic book movie, you better make sure that the fans are happy and from what I’ve read, not all the fans were happy with this. Hopefully, they’ll get their heads out of the sand and listen to the people that pay to see the thing, thus paying their salaries.
This is my kind of picture. I don’t love it as much as I do other non-stop action flicks like Crank and Shoot ‘Em Up, but it is still pretty good. Th action scorns are complemented with a little it of plot here and there that are necessary so that thing doesn’t go off in the direction of a mindless killing spree. There are some intense moments, but for the mos part, its just fun, adrenaline-laden , action.

http://thankyounetflix.wordpress.com

Here is a film with no great plot, nothing too serious here but what a great action! This is a film to watch for its special effects and only special effects and yes, watch it...don’t think that if the plot is not that briliant it doesn’t worth watching the film because it does...that is because the special effects here are great and amazing!

Great scenes with cars and chasing, bullets flying everywhere, slow motion and bullet time as well, this is a fun film to watch and enjoy its special effects.

Angelina Jolie looks beautiful in this film and there is a great scene with her naked....well...at least you see her entire back with a great tatto...yes, it’s not real but it suits here, maybe she should tatoo her back this way.

The film is only 110 minutes so it’s ok, not too long and you won’t feel them passing by as well because you’ll enjoy every second of this film with the great special effects they have.

It’s another action film from 2008 and again there’s nothing special in it...well, again...except it’s special effects. Of-course when you see the film and the graphics and scnene you may laugh a bit since it’s not possible in real life but that what makes them so amazing and cool to watch, you won’t see them in reality so what you’re left to do is sit back, relax and enjoy a film full with action, explosions, bullets and...the beautiful and sexy Angelina Jolie.

All in all, not something briliant and not something special but a film that is fun and doesn not require too much thought to figure out this film and it’s good because all we need is to wait for things to go BANG and they will, a lot. A fun and easy movie to watch if you have 110 minutes to spare in your life.

Last updated: 2009-08-11 08:25:27 by tripleA