James McAvoy
Angelina Jolie
Morgan Freeman
Critical Consensus:
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
**** out of *****
The Premise:A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.
MY REVIEW
Angelina Jolie
Morgan Freeman
Critical Consensus:
*** out of *****
(73% Fresh Rating!)
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
**** out of *****
The Premise:A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.
MY REVIEW
OK, I'm just a wee bit late to jump on the "Wanted" train...about 6 months late...but who's keeping track? After viewing this film on DVD I regret not being able to see it in theaters (long story as to why I didn't). This definitely is a movie theater experience film. It's big. It's loud. It's fast. It's action packed. Now when I say action packed, I don't mean this film has a lot of run of the mill shoot 'em scenes capped off with huge explosions. Now, it has all that...and then some. And I mean, "AND THEN SOME!". This has got to be the most over the top and ridiculous action film I have ever seen. Yes even more so than films like Live Free or Die Hard or Eagle Eye or yes, even The Matrix (but please don't compare the two films). The action is so out of this world, I can't even begin to describe it. That being said, I loved this movie! It was DARN good fun!
Wanted truly is the 'guilty pleasure' movie of 2008. You shouldn't really like it, but you just can't resist the appeal of it all. You're supposed to watch this movie and laugh at the insanity of it all (well...if you are a stuck up snobby film critic you will laugh for real because you are to full of yourselves to be simply entertained). This movie should not make any sense. But in some bizarre way...it does. I never once gave the action scenes a second thought, I just assumed it be real in the world of Wanted. I mean cars flip over other cars perfectly so that the hero can shoot a man through the sun roof of the other vehicle. One scene a car literally drives sideways on a bus. Not to mention the fact a character can "curve" a bullet so it travels in a perfect circle killing 6 or 7 people in one shot. Can that happen in real life? Who the hell even cares?? Do you think the filmmaker of Wanted thought he was making a realistic movie? Do you think the filmmaker of Wanted was expecting the audience to believe what they were watching to be true to life? No, of course not, that's silly! If you think any of those things...please stop watching movies, because I fear your heads may explode soon. These action scenes were incredibly entertaining! I even felt tense in a few scenes. This may have been the most fun I've had with an action movie this year.
The story is a little empty, but I won't knock it down to much for that, it is an action movie after all. I don't think the writer was going for a best screenplay Oscar here. The story of the "Fraternity" is pretty cool, not all that original but whatever. It was simple enough for me to understand. They never went into great detail about the history of the Fraternity, which I think was good because you don't want an over the top story to compliment already over the top action. Audiences would just be confused at that point. That's why with movies like this you have a very simple story, with a little bit of ridiculousness to it. Now what I didn't care for was the way the assassins chose their victims. They got the names in code that was hidden in weaved thread. Now that's OK, if we knew where the names originally come from. All we are told is that "fate" selects and sends the name. So it was some kind of supernatural force? I don't know...maybe I missed that. That really threw me off for a while. But after sometime, I just didn't care.
The performances were pretty good for an action flick. James McAvoy (Atonement, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) did a really great job with this character. I loved the comedy (a bit dark) he provided with his story. He plays a out of his luck accounting manager who's life just sucks. He brought a really good, pretty funny energy to the movie. Oscar winner Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, Changeling) finally has done a solid action flick and she was good in it to boot! She really can be a brilliant actress when she chooses the right role. She isn't brilliant here, but she did choose the right role. I like how she didn't take over the movie with her performance and make it all about her. She was good. Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, Shawshank Redemption) was great as usual! He did a really perfect job at playing the mysterious and sometimes creepy leader of the Fraternity.
Yes I am giving this movie four stars. No, it will not make my top ten list. I give it four stars because through it all this movie entertained me like not many action films this year have. The movies main focus was the action and it was complimented with a pretty cool but simple and understandable storyline. A lot of action films lately have way to much of both for me to personally find it 100 percent enjoyable. So yeah I saw Wanted really late in the year, but whatever it's not to late to join in on the fun! And that's what this movie was, damn good fun!
Wanted truly is the 'guilty pleasure' movie of 2008. You shouldn't really like it, but you just can't resist the appeal of it all. You're supposed to watch this movie and laugh at the insanity of it all (well...if you are a stuck up snobby film critic you will laugh for real because you are to full of yourselves to be simply entertained). This movie should not make any sense. But in some bizarre way...it does. I never once gave the action scenes a second thought, I just assumed it be real in the world of Wanted. I mean cars flip over other cars perfectly so that the hero can shoot a man through the sun roof of the other vehicle. One scene a car literally drives sideways on a bus. Not to mention the fact a character can "curve" a bullet so it travels in a perfect circle killing 6 or 7 people in one shot. Can that happen in real life? Who the hell even cares?? Do you think the filmmaker of Wanted thought he was making a realistic movie? Do you think the filmmaker of Wanted was expecting the audience to believe what they were watching to be true to life? No, of course not, that's silly! If you think any of those things...please stop watching movies, because I fear your heads may explode soon. These action scenes were incredibly entertaining! I even felt tense in a few scenes. This may have been the most fun I've had with an action movie this year.
The story is a little empty, but I won't knock it down to much for that, it is an action movie after all. I don't think the writer was going for a best screenplay Oscar here. The story of the "Fraternity" is pretty cool, not all that original but whatever. It was simple enough for me to understand. They never went into great detail about the history of the Fraternity, which I think was good because you don't want an over the top story to compliment already over the top action. Audiences would just be confused at that point. That's why with movies like this you have a very simple story, with a little bit of ridiculousness to it. Now what I didn't care for was the way the assassins chose their victims. They got the names in code that was hidden in weaved thread. Now that's OK, if we knew where the names originally come from. All we are told is that "fate" selects and sends the name. So it was some kind of supernatural force? I don't know...maybe I missed that. That really threw me off for a while. But after sometime, I just didn't care.
The performances were pretty good for an action flick. James McAvoy (Atonement, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) did a really great job with this character. I loved the comedy (a bit dark) he provided with his story. He plays a out of his luck accounting manager who's life just sucks. He brought a really good, pretty funny energy to the movie. Oscar winner Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, Changeling) finally has done a solid action flick and she was good in it to boot! She really can be a brilliant actress when she chooses the right role. She isn't brilliant here, but she did choose the right role. I like how she didn't take over the movie with her performance and make it all about her. She was good. Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, Shawshank Redemption) was great as usual! He did a really perfect job at playing the mysterious and sometimes creepy leader of the Fraternity.
Yes I am giving this movie four stars. No, it will not make my top ten list. I give it four stars because through it all this movie entertained me like not many action films this year have. The movies main focus was the action and it was complimented with a pretty cool but simple and understandable storyline. A lot of action films lately have way to much of both for me to personally find it 100 percent enjoyable. So yeah I saw Wanted really late in the year, but whatever it's not to late to join in on the fun! And that's what this movie was, damn good fun!
To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Wanted
*This is the 158th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
*This film is now on DVD.
I have not seen all of the reviewed movies on your blog. But I am desperate to watch this one. I really like the points that you have shared about the movie.
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