A Movie I “Wanted” to See

Wanted
June 28, 2008 - 7:35pm @ Tinseltown Plano
110 minutes (1 hr. 45 min.)

Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a nobody. An insignificant accounting manager, a bastard, a pussy with no control over his life. He is broke, his best friend is sexing his girlfriend and his boss is a mega bitch, yet he does nothing about it. Wesley is plagued with anxiety attacks that require a standing prescription. Wesley Gibson is a nobody.

One evening, as he fills his prescription at the local pharmacy, Wesley finds himself in the crossfire of an extreme gunfight between Fox (Angelina Jolie) and Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). Immediately following, he wakes up and is informed by Sloan (Morgan Freeman) that Cross is the man who murdered his father, a member of the Fraternity - an elite group of assassins.

Russian director Timur Bekmambetov has filmed and orchestrated a stunning, action-packed film. The kind of kickass action scenes that make me swear and think “That was fuckin’ awesome.” Moments of suspense in the movie are characterized by slow movement, amplified sounds, and visual distortion - very conducive to understanding how the assassins kick so much damn ass.

Despite all the flattering things I have to say, I still can’t understand why Wesley wanted to kill his father’s murderer. He believes that his father left soon after he was born, and there is no indication of any paternal affection. I also wasn’t feeling the chemistry between James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie. It seemed lackluster and unconvincing.

The resemblance Wanted has to The Matrix is undeniable, but that certainly doesn’t make it a mere ripoff.

And I couldn’t help but think of this article: The Unburdened Mind, which discusses psychopathy. Slightly irrelevant, but I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t mention this.

Overall, I highly recommend Wanted. It’s not too predictable, The Matrix-like final fight scene is badass and James McAvoy’s acting is commendable. This is indeed a movie I would see in the theatre, and eventually buy.

Just a disclaimer: I’m not familiar with the comic book off which Wanted based.