Twenty five year old nobody Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is offered the chance of following in his father's footsteps by becoming part of an elite fraternity of assassins.
The initially impassive Wesley is soon unlocking qualities he never knew he had like reflexes, dexterity, the rare ability to curve the trajectory of a bullet - all this and a mentor named Fox (Angelina Jolie) to cosy up with. Whoever said the best things come to those who wait was on to something.
Loosely based on Scottish writer Mark Millar's comic book miniseries and directed by Night Watch's Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted is being sold as the adult action fest of 2008.
They say:
Empire: "Not as dark as its source material, Wanted works exceptionally on its own terms."
Variety: "Devilishly ups the ante to a new level in adapting violent graphic comics."
Total Film: "Wanted is far better than doubters predicted."
We say:
This picture seemingly takes place in its own reality - the normal rules of physics do not apply. Time slows down, cars back flip then drive away, men leap a hundred feet from building to building.
However, arguing such inclusions are unrealistic is pointless - Wanted doesn't claim to be anything else. Even though the movie pelts through gun toting set pieces like a relay race, it still fails to be even accidentally exciting. The train tossing scene is nothing if not relaxing, while the mêlée at the end with the rubbish assassins comes and goes quicker than a mustard burp.
Computer animated imagery and a director who thinks he is working for Meat Loaf will never replace good old fashioned gritted teeth, wind in the hair, broken bones action. We're thinking fewer bytes and more Bourne. Hollywood's CGI mix has just become overloaded with expectation.
To remember how good it used to be, consider the truck chase at the start of 1984's Beverly Hills Cop for a purely random example - it's exhilarating, brief and tangible. You engage because it's real. There are no vision bending camera swoops or mega pixels, what you see actually happened. Proper stunts, proper car crashes. Wanted has none of this punch.
The generally talented cast cannot bolster a film so stern faced and silly that its narrative is powered by a something called a 'loom of fate' - literally a loom that stitches names of targets for the fraternity into bits of cloth. We're not kidding.
If it wasn't for the lean, stunning Angelina Jolie and man of the moment James McAvoy giving their all, and in the latter case creating some legitimate character empathy, this would be a total waste of popcorn.
McAvoy started on TV's Shameless, was recently lauded in Atonement and now busts heads alongside the delectable Ms Jolie. He's not too perfect so as to intimate the male popluation, yet has a female contingent strong enough to keep all short men living in hope that they might one day get a visit from Angelina in a floaty dress too.
Alas, Morgan Freeman phones in his performance with what is fast approaching career stagnation as the silky toned voice of all reason. He has played God in a movie before, so perhaps now a low down, dirty, meaty part might be advisable before he stumbles into Michael Caine territory circa 1980s.
If you adore comic books and The Matrix flicks, you might find something here beyond the two leads to enjoy. If not, stay in the foyer and congratulate yourself on a lucky escape. Wanted is all IBM and no FUN.
CAST
Angelina Jolie
James McAvoy
Morgan Freeman
Thomas Kretschmann
DIRECTOR
Timur Bekmambetov
TIME
110 mins
POSTED...
Thu 26 Jun at 11:52am
