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Ambush Bug wanted to like WANTED, but did he...?
Hey all, Ambush Bug here, taking a time out from AICN Comics to review WANTED.
I had a chance to see the movie last week and I'm just getting around to writing something about it.
If I were to boil WANTED down to its basic elements, I'd say the film was a watered down version of FIGHT CLUB by way of THE MATRIX. Now both FIGHT CLUB and THE MATRIX are potent films, so even diluted, it's an interesting premise to wrap a film around and I can appreciate that the powers that be at Universal had the balls to go through with an R rating for this one even though it may mean a bit of a difficult sell in this PG-13 friendly box office world we live in right now. People who like FIGHT CLUB and THE MATRIX will like this film for the same reasons they like those films: it’s violent, loud, bloody, and fast-paced. But people who love those films may find WANTED to be a bit redundant and stale compared to the real thing.But WANTED is a fun film and it has a whole lot going for it. The director, Timur Bekmambetov, has proven himself to be one of those talents that pique my interest every time I see the name. His work on NIGHTWATCH and especially the senses-shattering DAYWATCH definitely proves that he can handle big budget action and fantasy. But with all of the flash and flair, both of those films lacked in heart, with DAYWATCH being the worst of the two falling back on sitcom-style antics like gender swapping and sight gags to fill the gap. WANTED doesn't fall into those traps. Bekmambetov plays this one straight and out of the three it is definitely his most complete and competent film to date.
The action sequences involving trains sliding off of tracks and bullets being shot out of the air by other bullets were indeed thrilling. Again, as with DAYWATCH, the director and his effects team know how to choreograph a car chase and make it something you haven't seen before. Aspects of this film reminded me a lot of the excitement I felt when I first saw THE PROFESSIONAL and the breath-taking twists and turns Luc Besson took us through there (but of course, hopefully, Bekmambetov won't follow in Besson's footsteps by mellowing out with something like the snoozer-ific THE MESSENGER or the hokified FIFTH ELEMENT). The car-fu that goes on in this film is most assuredly reminiscent of this summer's first dud, SPEED RACER, but the smaller budget and the fact that it seemed like real (not cartoon) cars were used made it all the more dire, more edge-of-your-seat-y to watch. The bullet-fu was pretty cool too. Curving the bullet. Shooting a bullet in the air to block another. These are things hinted at in THE MATRIX's bullet-time scenes, but used in new and exciting ways here.
Aside from the effects, though, the film isn't really anything we haven't seen before. I've was never a big fan of Mark Millar's comics (for those of you who don't know, WANTED originally was a comic book miniseries published by Top Cow Comics and was optioned for film before the final issues were even completed...much like the offensively over-hyped, Millar-scribed KICK-ASS currently fellating itself on a comic book shelf near you). It's a wonder that the plucky Scotsman gets any comic book writing done at all with all of the winking and nodding that goes on in his stories. I've read WANTED the comic and found it to be both Millar's most satisfying comic book work to date and his most infuriating. I don't want to ruin the book for those of you who will race out to your local comic shop to buy the trade after seeing the film this weekend, but to sum it up, Millar spends six issues making you care for these characters only to give the middle finger to the reader in the end for caring so much about them. It's the kind of rancor I often sense while reading comics from Mr. Millar, as if he really wanted to be a screenwriter and is angry for having to stoop to the level of writing funny books.
I'm happy to report that I didn't feel as much of the snide "FUCK YOU, FANS!" message in Bekmambetov’s film as I did with Millar’s book. It's more of a film about repressed rage than anything else. Like Edward Norton's nameless character in FIGHT CLUB, WANTED's main character Wesley (James McAvoy) is a man out of control of his life and in search of both a place and a goal for himself. His life has every Country & Western song cliché you can name sans the dead dog. His girlfriend is cheating on him with his best friend. He's broke. He hates his job and everyone he works with. And there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Wesley looks destined to live out his life in a cubicle, typing reports to appease his obese and overbearing boss, and mumbling Happy Birthday while thin slices of bland office cake are being passed around for as long as he takes in oxygen. Like Norton in FIGHT CLUB or Keanu's Neo in THE MATRIX, his life changes dramatically when he runs into a charismatic character (here it's Angelina Jolie's Fox, there it's Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden and Carrie Anne Moss' Trinity) that introduces a dangerous and exciting world to him that exists right under his nose.
I don't want to ruin plot points or toss too many spoilers around in this review. Basically, the second section of the movie is a super-long montage where Wesley learns how to become an assassin to track down another assassin. This section of the film, while exciting, really does slow the film down and wears out its welcome, especially since the man he's after isn't developed as a character or a villain one bit. There’s a reason for that ambiguity, but it does a disservice to the film because all of the rage and determination that drives Wesley doesn't really have a properly developed antagonist as a target. By the time Wesley is able to "catch the fly with the chopsticks" I found myself feeling as if his rage was somewhat shallow and meaningless. Trying to feel a connection to a guy who is learning how to become a soulless yet perfect killing machine is a difficult thing to sell.The history of the guild of assassins both makes sense (in a comic booky way) and is pretty damn ludicrous all at once. How a bunch of weavers trained themselves to be assassins is beyond me. As with Millar's book, the story takes this comic booky premise seriously, but the concept, in the end, is just plain "loopy." Sorry about the pun, but there are parts of these weaving assassins’ formation and motivation that are a bit...(dare I say it?) ...un-be-weavable.
Fans of the comic looking for characters like Fuckwit, the Imp, Shithead, and the like will be sorely disappointed. Who knows whose decision it was to shirk a direct adaptation of this miniseries, but these characters are deeply rooted in reality. The only super-heroic things that occur happen through the bullet and car-play, the occasional healing wax bath, and maybe a few daredevil feats that suggest superhuman powers, but like the first MATRIX film, WANTED never really leaps full force into the realm of superheroes as the comic book did. Having read the comic and seen the film, the two can be enjoyed as separate entities. One embracing, then anal-raping comic book heroics. The other flirting with it. I’ll let you be the judge which is which.I've already delved too much into the plot. It's a summer movie. There are 'splosions, fast cars, Angelina's buttcrack, guns, knives, blood, and exploding rats. Any film with that stuff is worth the ticket price. It's a fun ride and while it's not as acerbic as the book, it does have its own bite and stands alone as being one of the few movies that may be more effective than the book it was inspired from.
And being from Chicago, I had a great time seeing all of the bars, shops, and streets of the town I love up there on the screen. Seeing the car chase in the Carnival Shoes parking lot and Wesley running past the bar outside of his apartment where I drank some pints just last St. Patrick’s Day were especially fun to see simply because these are places I've been a million times.
The main thing that I took from this film, though, was respect towards the director. If Sony had a brain in its collective heads, they'd nab this guy up to direct the next SPIDER-MAN film or one of the slew of other Marvel movies down the road. Why go with Raimi, who is obviously tired of the franchise? Bekmambetov's eye for original action is the true star of this one. Jolie, Freeman, McEvoy.
All of them do pretty good in this film. Terrence Stamp must have set a record for least lines spoken by a fourth-billed star. Common was dope...I guess. It was cool to see NIGHT and DAYWATCH star Konstantin Khabensky in a small but meaningful role and I was surprised when I saw BRAVEHEART loon David O'Hara in the flick. But it's director Timur Bekmambetov's knack for making things you may have seen before seem original, vivid, and fun that is the true star of this one. Given a more original story, this guy could be one of the new masters of blockbuster cinema.
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Been coming to this website for 11 years and yesterday was the first time I ever been first, and then I get first again a 2nd time.
At anyrate I am kinda interested in this movie..I used to read comics on constant basis up until the early 90's. Now I only pick up a graphic novel once in a blue moon or a story line collected into one book ala Batman: Year One.
I have never read a TOP COW comic..so at anyrate I was on wiki looking up the premise of WANTED..I was like WOW that sounds downright great...and from what I can tell from movie..it seems to be very loosely based on the premise and now I'm a little disapointed in the premise of the movie but in all likelyhood I will check it out. -
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO on Wanted. I had high hopes for this one after I saw the first trailer a while back. FAIL.
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Save your money.
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It's a tradition here on this website to be first, some sounds like they really stressed out.
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Stupid, mindless, unbelievable stunts for no good reason? (other than to keep 14yr boys buying tickets)
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Millar is a much better writer then you give him credit for. You being infuriated says more about you as a reader, then about Millar as a writer. :)
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until i saw te russian red band trailer, slow-mo bullets through brains equals cool in my book. good shout on the spiderman comment BTW.
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And Im really looking forward to it. Should be excellente!
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If so I'm there. Otherwise PASS
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Because it's been done before. When Fight Club or The Matrix came out, nobody was talking about how "this is just like..."Not to mention one strength of Fight Club also lay in its actors, Ed Norton and Brad Pitt. Laurence Fishburne kind of carried The Matrix along with the Wachowskis' great adapting of the Neo character around Keanu.
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Way to over react...surely your posts moaning about how someone applauded themselves for being first instead of talking about the article aren't related to the article either. As For Wanted, from what I've seen it looks good, I liked Nightwatch and Daywatch and really want to like this.
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Supervillains > Assassins
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It's true that posting "First!" is a tradition around here, but it's an irritating one and only for fools.... but then to post a second comment on how cool it is and how you've been waiting 11 years, that makes you a fucking douche.
I thought the comic was all right, more hype than substance, and that's coming from a Millar fan.... The movie looks fun, but nothing Earth shattering.... If you're someone who can check their head at the door and enjoy the ride, it looks like a perfect way to beat the heat. If not, I also understand why some might hate on it. -
whats wrong with that? 'hokified'may be an accurate description ...but I don't think it was a disappointment.
Also, this whole 'first' thing IS incredibly annoying. -
...this guy should be featured more on the site
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isn't as annoying as ranting about people who post first while having CAPS LOCK on.
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back to back this week. Candace Parker dunked in a game 2 nights in a row in a WNBA game. I'm just sayin...
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wow...not a single one of those words describes why i loved fight club...
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Now you can move pics to the left and right!! Congrats! This internet tech is really improving who knows where it's headed??
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Seriously, all of you whiners on here are a bunch of negative nancies and fucking pussies. You sound like sniveling babies. Need your diapers changed?
Because "Wanted" definitely isn't a film for you. As Ambush Bug wrote, it's bloody, violent, and R-rated. In a PG-13 world, how can you honestly complain about a film with A-list actors that gets hardcore? After the leaky farts of "AVP" and other supposedly "intense" films that went nowhere, I'm excited as hell for "Wanted." Gun kata, people getting blown apart with bullets and shrapnel, and double crosses as an office boy gets in over his head? Hell yes. I'm there. -
This was visually pleasant to read!
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Has anyone else been extremely annoyed by all the retarded reviewers on this site who insist on using words they don't know how to spell? I vomit in my mouth a little every time I see the phrase "peaked my curiosity" It's called a HOMOPHONE you idiots - and its a good idea to look up those fancy words you heard some hot grad student use - sorry you didn't get into her pants though you dork. So kudos to Ambush Bug for the first proper use of the word pique I have seen on this site in ages. And for the rest of you - try sticking to the 4th grade vocabulary interspersed with obscenities, really, it makes you appear witty and intelligent.
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Jun 25, 2008 8:29:00 AM CDT
Ambush Bug, I hope referring to SPEED RACER as a "dud"...
by stones_throw
...is more about the film's box office performance than quality! Because it's by some distance my favorite film of the summer so far. The Wachowskis showed us an incredible cartoon world on a level above anything we've ever seen before. The film was, yes, eye-poppingly good. Not that I particularly care about its box office, but I have to say it seems more the fault of marketing than anything else. I've talked to plenty of people--even MATRIX fans--who had no idea what SPEED RACER is.
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I like the first stuff better then the Damn You Micheal Bay guy. Whoever he is, he's gonna crack one day. Plus the whole first thing is just kind of dumb fun. People getting mad about it, is like people getting upset over grammar in post. Fucking have a coke and a smile and shut the fuck up.
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McEvoy looking directly at camera: "Hey, folks! You guys like movies, huh? Well, I'm IN a movie, losers. Fuck you. Your $7.50 is mine, suckers! I'll be heading back to my Beverly Hills mansion for caviar now while you go eat a can of Campbell's chunky soup at your double-wide." McEvoy shoots the bird. Roll credits.
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Hey hechtal: for all the complaining you did in your droning, paragraph-less post, how do you know "Wanted" won't kickass in a physical but dramatic way? You hated the effects in "300" too and called the film a "travesty". You do realize "300" was a nearly frame-for-frame recreation of the graphic novel, right? Not a historical drama?
Man, it's not even worth getting into with you. Go take your midol. "Wanted" -- or any other R-rated film with a brain, really --wasn't made for such knowledgeable folk as you. -
Hell yeah son, mutha fucking Speed Racer is the shit! And all those Brother W haters out there, I don't really got anything because I realize however badass the trailers for Matrix 2 was it still was a let down overall. Though with the magic of DVD I can skip all the non Highway scene parts and just watch that, and the MTV spoof. Also, for those of us at work... NOT A FAN OF PICTURES IN REVIEWS. Some of us don't get to spend all day in a basement where the biggest fear is mom walking in during a wank session to 2 girls 1 cup. And we have to copy long reviews and paste them in some e-mail as to not look like conspicuous, and pictures fuck up my clean highlight and copy. Fuck next thing you know this site will be all fucking gay ass flash.
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It doesnt improve my life but it's all in good fun. Didnt know how much this would affect your life, lol..I'm just taking part of a tradition thats been going on here for years and will keep on going on until the end of the world.
You are really overreacting.
Anyway now I guess I better check out Nightwatch and Daywatch..one of my boys saw it in the theaters and told me that he liked it alot. -
Well let me hold up for a 2nd, its my 2nd favorite film of the summer after Iron Man but I appreciate his enthusiasm of for the film. It got a raw deal.
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Do critics think their so clever to shit on that film? Speed Racer is already building a cult following as we speak. Meanwhile dumbass critics and morons think their so fucking clever shitting on it just because it didn't make money. Money does not = quality.
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Some good points in there, Jolie has been incredibly hot in the past, but looks somewhat sickly lately, but would any guy really pass up a chance at tagging her? Also - How can you complain about passing up storyboarded material from other comics and graphic novels and then bitch about 300? This was obviously a romanticized interpretation of a historic event that was lifted almost verbatim from the graphic novel, and the effects were spot-on at making it look like the book. Do you think anyone really wants to see a documentary of the actual historical events? And I despised SpeedRacer as well, but the look was phenomenal and insanely original, which was quite obviously the point. If you want to gripe about crappy effect work - pick movies that try to make effects look real - cough- transformers rather than films that obviously are using effects to create a highly stylized or surreal look for an entire film. But then again - that's why it is ART - some love it, some hate it, but if it makes you have a strong reaction one way or the other it has merit.
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is that is was about SUPERVILLIANS.They kill,rape and get away with everything imaginable because they killed The Justice League and now rule the world.This sounds like a harder mr & mrs smith.Count me out.
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To complain that the movie is a watered down version of Fight Club and The Matrix is merely just showing up the lack of originality in the source material. The film seems pretty faithful to the comic so any redundancy is on behalf of Mark Millar.
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The movie does not enthrall me. Rental at best. It looks like yet another excuse for CGI to carry an otherwise vapid retread of an action plot.
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It was everything Shoot 'em up should have been. I don't understand Ambushes use of The matrix & Fight Club because there was alot more going on in both movies the violence & action.. Also the fact the Matrix & Fight Club (2 epic movies) are the 2 movies you are comparing this movie to. How can that be a bad thing
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God I hope this is a hit so that the studios will see that fanboys want to see hard R rated flicks like this!
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So he can take out all the Super-hero Super-villain stuff and have Spidy shoot web bullets out of an SUV.
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lighten up.
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is he doing 2 dudes?
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Looks more matrix than FClub so I'll pass . Plus Empire magazine gave it 4 out of 5 stars so it must be pish!
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but since the very first trailers for this came out, it's had nothing but suckage written all over it.
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...here's a 'sneak peak' at the latest redband trailer that's 'to' graphic for the 'masse's'!
and these are from people who supposedly went to journalism school? -
Good review, but I just needed to say that you can't "blame" the director for the gender switch in Daywatch as it is part of the original book, not something he created.
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Does Mr. Rictus appear in this movie and is there any reference to goat fucking? BTW, Shigeru asked a good question. Is Dad queer in this movie?
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"...making you care for these characters..."Uh, couldn't agree with you less there. Kinda had trouble emathizing with a murdering rapist. Book didn't work for me at all.
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And now you have a movie that is R rated with A List actors and a Russian auteur behind the lens and you all bitch bitch bitch. The movie has solid reviews overall on RottenTomatoes. And this review wasn't at all negative. So why the hate? It might be a fun movie. Give it a fucking chance. It doesn't at all look like the cinematic abortion that was AVP-R or any other craptastic shit fest that we have had to endure.
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Seriously, people are ready to use the word EPIC way too quickly online. How the fuck is this movie an Epic Failure when it hasn't even come out yet and the reviews have been good. Now The Love Guru was an EPIC FAIL. But this hasn't even come out yet. Also remember it doesn't have a ridiculous budget either.
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i only come here out of habit, this site is SOOOOOOOO far behind the times, its kinda like a retro website
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Though I was bored with it for different reasons than Ambush Bug, it just found it to read like something written by a not terribly bright, angry 14 year old. A half-assed idea executed in a stoopid, juvenile manner.
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This director is a hack. He just copies what he see's in bad American movies. No originality. No style of his own. Just a copy of a copy of a copy but now in Russian with english subtitles.
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Is all it cost to make this movie. So no matter what happens, I don't think it will be a failure.
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Those who who are not too jaded to enjoy it, of course.
People need to stop lumping it in with Love Guru. (Except of course in terms of box office, where quietly they meet in shadow and shame. Hopefully the DVD release of SR will sunder that connection!)
As for Blunted here...I've seen enough previews to be wary. The cast seems engaging, despite MacAvoy screeching like a monkey during the one car chase sequence. And Mark Millar is a horrible bitch goddess when it comes to storytelling. (Emphasis on the "horrible" half of the time.) Perhaps condensing the story will improve it in this case. It's a matinee outing, and definitely after opening weekend. -
worst pun ever, dude.
kudos. -
Angelina and I share that in common, je suppose.
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There was virtually NO blood shed in that movie, despite all the machine-gun deaths.
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I will give this a chance, looks like they are making an ever so slight attempt and something a bit different, not ground breaking , as it seems to have elements of other movies, but it looks like somewhat of an effort was put into the movie, but we will see, i'll give it a chance.
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Sorry, but I just don't see the hate. It's completely unjustified for me.
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I saw the file last week, and having a limited knowledge of the comic, I was initially impressed with the film. After reading the comic book, my opinion of the film has been downgraded from great to good. The first 30 minutes of the film are close to the comic. Then it all goes haywire, probably because the film was optioned before the comic was even finished. The Weavers getting their kill orders from reading the threads in a loom was ridiculous. In the comic book it was all about super villains, but this is of course tossed out the door in the movie. When I saw the film, it was a surprise to see Wesley Gibson's (main character) father as the same man Wesley was after for revenge, and ultimately killed by Wesley in the pivotal train scene. Not the same guy we see at the beginning of the film gunned down from over two miles away (if not more). And no, there are no homosexual scenes in the movie. Plus the ending was cool, but the director wasted these characters that we come to like in the film. Fox (Angelina Jolie) works her own bullet bending magic and shoots all of the remaining assassins in the head (including herself) with one bullet traveling in a giant circle (a little ridiculous, but interesting). Angelina does not show her breasts. Wesley survives (alone) in the end, but what does that leave us for a potential sequel? Even Sloan's character is killed in the end in another great scene (another two mile plus kill). You should go see it, but don't expect a lot from the comic book, and ignore the dump assassin subplot with the looms.
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Jolie, guns, and a bad ass Morgan Freeman. I have had tickets for the Friday opening of this for at least two weeks. Looks to be a action classic despite being compared to the Matrix, isn't every action film these days compared to The Matrix? Who cares I was big action and this looks like it will deliver. Besides what chick does action better these days that Jolie?
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Also, Rictus is in it. For three seconds. As a corpse under a sheet. And that's it. Look, here's the deal: the movie rights were sold and the script was started before Millar even finished writing the miniseries, because he's in it for the cash and the fame. As a result, it detours quite considerably from the comic. so no goat-fucking or rape or a giant walking pile of shit stolen from a Kevin Smith movie or whatever. They took the initial concept--"secret cabal of assassins with amped-up speed and reflexes"--and worked with it, and they did a pretty solid job with it. They decided against doing an R-rated capes-and-tights superhero movie, and I can't say that I blame them. Some of Wesley's dailogue and attitude come straight out of the book, and it ends on a nice little monologue in keeping with that. The final "flippin' the bird" moment where we get chastised just for buying the product we're selling isn't there, but there's still some real attitude in the closing.
Look, it's a solid action movie. Cool fight sequences, great use of Chicago settings, and it takes some solid shots at the drudgery of day-to-ay middle class existence. And there's no doubt the director has a unique style and a great aptitude at putting together eye-catching visuals. It was a fun, cool action movie that did several things I haven't seen in a movie before, so it's worth seeing. -
... Jesus Christ.
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Poop on a scoop!
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a dorky guy who no one appreciates is looking for direction and then becomes an expert with a gun, and his name is Wesley? Angel ripoff! Inform Joss Whedon! Kidding. Didn't Millar say that this non-supervillain thing was more his original intention? Haven't read Wanted, but read the mediocre Civil War. Ultimates was pretty kick-ass, and Kick-Ass is interesting, but not the genius people say it is.
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i remember watching liefeld run around, telling everyone how all his stuff was going to be made into movies....only to end up in development hell...and here we have millar, whose talent is about on par with rob's, and his stuff is being made into real movies...what a kick in the head
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or the comic version of wanted
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and the fifth element is a damn good movie.
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obey me!!!
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What's you address, so I can send you $20 bucks to buy a new keyboard? Either that or stop using the public libabry for you rants.
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Setting up your own Evil Knievel stunt to kill a guy under subway isn't an example of this. Neither was the scene with the bus. It looks like it was done in studio.
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Right when the matrix came out there were tons of movies using the "bullet time" and aping its style. Now its been five years since so it seems like this stuff is new again. Overall I'm looking forward to this, its gotten mostly positive reviews on tomatoes so far.
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That's what Jolie looks like in all the ads / promos for this.
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I love comic books, I've collected them for years and frankly I didn't understand all the fuss over Wanted. It reads like it was written by a bunch of 12 year old boys riding the short bus on the 15 minute ride to school. Or maybe a comic Beavis and Butthead wrote, ... hmmm maybe some people would find a comic book written by Beavis and Butthead interesting. It's not something that would be good to admit to. However, I plan on watching the movie because, believe it or not, I like the first few issues of Wanted, then it just became a ridiculous parody.
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This movie looks like it'll be really good.. and to all the haters out there. Please prove that this movie is crap by creating something better.... let me know when you have something...
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Are you retarded or just slow? Perhaps your father wasn't there for you when you were young, or maybe your mother dropped you; like how the plot of the comic book was dropped for the stupid plot in this movie. At least I know how to work a CAPS LOCK button. If the talkback had a spell checker I would be fine, but you continue to be stupid. For someone who swears every other word, you shouldn't talk about using the english language. Douche.
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I'll be seeing this one.
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But I think it should be spelled DORK.
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Better than Iron Man. Which says a lot because I thought IM was pretty damn entertaining. But this has a lot of cool scenes and set pieces to watch again and again. Long training sequence. meh. But other than that the movie moved, is violent, funny, and a lot of fun.OBVIOUSLY not a classic like Fight Club or Matrix, but probably the best Hard R in a long time, and will probably be the best summer movie til Dark Knight.
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No pun intended.
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McAvoy is the best thing about it. But you guys are going to get more computer animated slo-mo in two hours than you've ever seen total.
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..in this review is a joke. That those movies are even mentioned in the same breath as this is an embarassment. wtf its got in common with Fight Club will remain a mystery to me.
Its not bad though folks. But definitely not great -
Ok so this is going to be a short one, for the simple reason that there isn't much to talk about. I haven't read the original comic it was based on, and frankly, if it's anything like the movie, I don't think I want to.
This is a boring movie. It was always going to be a "style" over "substance" movie, but, they forgot to bring the style.
Instead they try to fool you with brief shots that are supposed to evoke a sense of being cool, but they don't follow through. The action is bland and uninteresting, with the exception of a car chase near the beginning which is ok.
It's like the makers decided to show a series of cool effects and forgot that the action accompanying it had to be interesting.
The plot is wafer thin and tries to be clever and deep but instead ends up being shallow and under developed, as are the cnaracters.
Imagine if the matrix had no kung fu, just a series of bullet time shots with no purpose other than to look "cool". That's Wanted.
The actors don't even bother to phone in their performances, they text it, using text lingo that.
The truth is, the film is at least half an hour too short. The movie never really gets going , the characters are hollow and uninteresting.
In fact, Terence "Kneel Before Zod" Stamp managed to outshine the other actors despite his limited screentime, and even then he failed to impress...definitely done for the paycheck.
This is one of those movies that frankly isn't very good, not even as pure popcorn fare. This is a rental at best. The "cool" shots simply aren't wortj going to the cinema to see.
Final Score:
3/10
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TURN OFF YOUR FUCKING CAPS LOCK, YOU MORON. IT'S CAUSING ALL YOUR FLAMING TO COME THROUGH IN CAPS. THEY ARE, THEREFORE, FLAMING CAPS. SO TURN OFF YOUR FUCKING CAPS LOCK.
JACKASS. -
The comic not so much.
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1. Open eyes
2. Look at your hand
3. Make a Fist
4. Extend your index finger
5. Look at keyboard
6. Look at the button labeled Caps lock; if you are in America, the button will be on your far left side, in between Tab and Shift.
7. Move index finger (still extended) to Caps Lock button - make sure not to stop for a pick or three at your nose
8. Lightly tap the Caps lock button with your index finger
9. Remove index finger from Caps Lock button
10. Move index finger to anus
11. Insert into anus
12. Repeat as necessary to obtain desired results.
Notes:
Implies you are naked in front of your computer at not at a "libary" (spelling is just for you)
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Here is what Wikipedia states:
Comic book author Mark Millar described the first half of the film as being close to the graphic novel. Millar also said that the film's ending was similar, though it was relocated elsewhere from the setting in the graphic novel. The superhero costumes in the series were also removed, with the exception of the leather attire worn by Wesley Gibson and The Fox. Ironically, this had been Millar's intent when writing the graphic novel, although he and artist J. G. Jones had forgotten to. "I wanted them to have those powers and then just wear those costumes for the initiation, but just for one panel." he said. "And then I forgot. I’d have liked [the filmmakers] to keep the supervillain mythos. That’s one thing I’m kind of sad they didn’t keep, ’cause I really liked that, the idea that supervillains and heroes did exist at one point and they’re all gone now."[17] The story arc of the Fates issuing death orders in line with the series's original theme of predestination was a new element to the film, an addition to which Millar was amicable.[21]
This implies a few things: 1). Mark Millar and J.G. Jones had no clue what they were doing during the creation of a six-issue mini-series; where they forgot to have them not in costune for the whole series. What too busy getting optioned by Holloywood to remeber why the comic was so popular to begin with? 2). The characters were always supposed to be super villains. 3). (Read into his comments) Mark Millar did not like the new plots and mythos relating to the fates and weavers.
So we get either a real good summer movie or a crappy comic adaptation, or both, depending on your opinion. -
I thought I just did that? Are you stoned as well Bad_Wolf? Perhaps you are spending too much time watching Doctor Who.
(I'M GOING TO SIMPLY IGNORE THE POSTS AIMED AT ME IN THIS TALKBACK AS THEY'RE WASTING VALUABLE SPACE IN WHICH WE COULD BE DEBATING ON THE POINTS BROUGHT UP IN THIS REVIEW).
Mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery. To IgNorE is To NoT SaY a WOrd! -
FOR FUCKING FUCK SAKES YOU TURDS. ON THE SUBJECT OF WANTED- I'VE WANTED TO GET A LIFE FOR YEARS, BUT ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY RASH.
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TO KOOL TO SCHOOL. LET'S WASTE SOME MORE TIME. SPEEDRACER IS MORE CLEVER THAN BIG_BAD_WOLF_IN_CAPS AND Bad_Wolf PUT TOGETHER.
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better put on some damn weight and bring back the curves.
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...You would know that it is improper English to write with conjunctions (You're = You are). But, I digress, ultimately who cares? You can't figure out a keyboard, so I should leave a little bit more money in the church plate this weekend; in hopes that it will ultimately reach your needy hands. I feel sorry for you. About Wanted; it was not better than Iron Man, but was better than The Incredible *Edible* Hulk. It was not like the Fight Club, and any comparisons to Fight Club miss the point of the movie and book (which was better). (Before he says anything), Yes I read. Thx.
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Damn you Michael Bay!!!!!
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This was fun, we should do this more often. (that's what she said)
"She" being your mother. -
it's still my favorite movie of the summer... anywayz I will be checking this out along with Wall-E this weekend.. hope they are both good..
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And I loved it. Fucking awesome to be honest.
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Oh shit now bad wolf is pissed at me :(
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bitches!
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this sounds fucking stupid, Angelinas one expression is stupid, her stupid posing with gun (tm) is stupid, the story sounds stupid, the reviewer missing the whole point of fight club is stupid, his liking of night watch and day watch is stupid, his pointing out how brave hollywood is for putting out an R rated movie is stupid, hollywood is stupid, my post and the fact that I actually care and am at all surprised by the prospect of how much suckage is in this film, is stupid.
I almost forgot about curving bullets around corners... -
After reading his review, I can't really tell.
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BECAUSE ITS FUN TO DO AND FUN TO READ. I ALSO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A COMMA IS OR WHEN TO USE ONE I AM CONTENT TO JUST CONTINUE TYPING MY THOUGHTS AS THEY COME TO ME BECAUSE WHO HAS TIME TO CONSIDER HOW WE APPEAR TO OTHERS QUESTION MARK
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Yikes! That movie rocks in 14 directions.
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OK, I usually just let my reviews speak for themselves, but for some reason, there seems to be some of you who completely misunderstood what I was trying to say. Deep breath...
I liked FIGHT CLUB. I understood FIGHT CLUB. WANTED does a good job of aping the contempt for white collar, corporate jobs that was seen first (well, probably not first, but effectively nonetheless) throughout FIGHT CLUB right down to the stocatto narrative by the main character at the beginning. I'm quoting directly from the review... "People who like FIGHT CLUB and THE MATRIX will like this film for the same reasons they like those films: it’s violent, loud, bloody, and fast-paced. But people who love those films may find WANTED to be a bit redundant and stale compared to the real thing." This means that people who have a passing liking for FIGHT CLUB (the one's who don't really get it, but dig all of the surface level shit like the 'splosions and fights) would probably like this movie because it is a very surface level/lowest common denomenator thrill movie. People who LOVE the movie (aka those who understand, appreciate, and downright worship the film) will find the film uninspired, mainly because of the shallowness of WANTED compared to the levels of complexity that occur throughout FIGHT CLUB. I compared it to MATRIX mainly due to the heavy reliance on special effects such as bullet-time and slo mo. It boils down to STYLE and SUBSTANCE. THE MATRIX had the STYLE first - WANTED imitates that STYLE pretty well and even ups it a tiny notch due to advancements in technology over the last seven years. FIGHT CLUB had the SUBSTANCE, which WANTED is lacking in big time. C'mon folks, read the words I wrote and quit assuming shit.
And for the record, I liked SPEED RACER, although I thought it was a bit long. When I said dud, I meant box office. When I compared it to WANTED, I prefered WANTED's car chase scenes because they seemed more real than the cartoony SPEED RACER segments. Two different movies involving flipping cars. Both were fun for different reasons. I just preferred the more realistic chases in WANTED.
Hope this clears thing sup.
Thanks for the feedback.
And as much as I appreciate the feedback, there's no need to yell. Mellow out, please, and release that all caps button. -
It was ok. Had I not seen THE PROFESSIONAL, I may have liked it more. But c'mon. Chris Tucker? That floating thing that hung around Gary Oldman? The annoying monk kid? The big blue alien's stupid dance? After seeing how amazing THE PROFESSIONAL was, I admired THE FIFTH ELEMENT for it's funkiness, but it doesn't hld a candle to LEON.
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Damn You MCMLXXVI
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That was a good review and this movie will rock. Who's the girl mcavoys banging in the trailer?
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So this review sound like the movie easily can uphold witht the MATRIX sequels. Every movie compared to Fight Club AND The Matrix has to be a lot of fun to go to. An R rating for this kind of movie is like a dream come true for me and I can't wait to see it!!!
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