Wanted (2008)
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writer: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas
Starring: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp
Language: English
Runtime: 110 Minutes approx.
Age Rating: 18
Genre: Action, Thriller
Reviewed by Ross Miller
I am one of the people who almost immediately wrote off this film from the trailers as lame, over-the-top, and ridiculous. I predicted not only that it wouldn’t be any good but that it would be flat out bad.
But my liking for the director, after his imaginative double-punch Night and Day Watch, and for most of the cast, in particular rising star James McAvoy, and a sense of curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see Wanted despite my reservations. Well, I am one to hold up my hands, eat some humble pie, and wholeheartedly admit when I’m wrong; Wanted is awesome.
Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Wanted tells the story of an ordinary man, Wesley Gibson, with an ordinary, boring life who one day finds out he is the heir of one of the greatest assassins who ever lived. He is then recruited and trained by a thousand-year-old organisation known as The Fraternity.
I can’t see anyone not being at the very least entertained by Wanted. The action sequences are immensely exciting and enthralling, there’s an abundance of swearing for anyone looking to get their fill, there’s lots of cool guns and gadgets, and it moves along at such a fast pace that it would put Superman to shame. It’s like a huge pot filled with all the necessary ingredients for an over-the-top action flick turned up to the highest heat possible and some fireworks thrown in for that extra kick. As an audience we get thrown head-first into the mix.
It seems like nothing can get in the way of the up-and-coming James McAvoy. Starting off on British TV and small budget stuff, he was then was seen by the millions who turned up to see the first Chronicles of Narnia film, and of course put in a fantastic performance opposite Keira Knightley in last year’s excellent Atonement. But the big question now is can he pull off a full on action hero role? The answer is completely and unequivocally yes. As fantastic of an actor as he is, I had my doubts whether or not he would be believable, and that’s the first and last time you’ll hear me use that word, in an action role but he completely is. It's very evident that he’s been putting in the time at the gym and he also looks like he’s trained to do some of the non-special effects stuff we see in the movie. It looks like McAvoy is making a checklist of different kinds of roles he can play and ticking the boxes one by one. I just wonder what’s next on his list.
The film is just perfectly cast. Aside from McAvoy we have people like Angelina Jolie, who also is awesome in an action role, Morgan Freeman, who plays the intelligent leader guy very well, and a host of other faces you will no doubt recognise from countless other films of this type and otherwise. Usually it doesn't really matter who the cast is as long as it doesn't hurt the movie in any way but the fact that the cast is both great on their own as actors and in their respective roles here is admirable.
The film demands a certain suspension of disbelief from the viewer, and I think this may go into a phrase book as a description of that term at some point in the future, and I think if you don’t employ that mentality you will never be able to enjoy it. You will constantly be thinking, “Oh, come on! No way would that happen!” But I think the audience that goes out to see the film will have absolutely no problem suspending their disbelief and thus Wanted will end up being one of the most exhilarating films of 2008.
Although I think Russian director Timur Bekmambetov’s Night and Day Watch were both a bit overrated, I still admire the creativity, imagination, and fantastic special effects that are on display within. And similar to my apprehensions about it being too ridiculous for its own good, I was sceptical whether or not the director’s over-the-top mentality could work outside of a fantasy setting. Well again, it completely does and more. All the elements taken out of context, such as bullets being bent, people jumping from one building to another and running along a moving train and the like, seem ridiculous and lame. But when you’re in the zone of the film and you have been sucked into the action all of those over-the-top elements just add to the enjoyment and excitement of it all.
The movie promises action and I don’t need to tell you that it delivers in leaps and bounds, sometimes quite literally. Pretty much from start to finish the film is action oriented and even when it stops for a few breaths, before diving back into the deep end, it still leans towards something exciting or nerve wracking in the conversations between the characters. The action sequences are constructed with the help of CGI and a minor criticism would be that you can sometimes clearly tell that it’s fake, but for the most part within the context of the movie everything looks great.
I am more than happy to hold my hands up and admit I was wrong to judge this the way I did as I freakin’ loved this movie. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a cinema so far this year; it’s exciting, it’s got a frantic pace, it constantly has a hold of your attention, and just all around it’s a damn fun movie to spend the couple of hours on. With all the high profile blockbusters that have been/are being released this summer I say seek out Wanted before the others and I will be surprised if any other film this summer will reach the level that this does.
