Hey all. Capone in Chicago here.
Ever wanted to have your ass kicked so hard by an action film that it's knocked off your backside and handed it to you on a silver platter? That's pretty much WANTED in a nutshell. WANTED may not be a great film, but then again maybe it is. However you choose to evaluate it, you will not be able to deny that it is some of the most decadent fun you'll have in a film all year. If we lived in a world where adrenaline was pumped into the water instead of fluoride, you might begin to understand the plane of existence this film lives on. Based on the graphic novel series by Mark Millar, the movie spends almost as much time evaluating the world of us normal humans as it does these talented killers who can shoot the wings off flies, aim a bullet between moving 'L' cars and curve bullets with a flick of the wrist.
With every action scene hyper-realized by master Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (the NIGHT WATCH series), WANTED tells the story of lowly cube dweller Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) who is recruited by a centuries-old coven of assassins known as the Fraternity led by Sloan (Morgan Freeman) to avenge the death of Wesley's father, whom he thought had been missing or dead since he was an infant. When he is approached by the beautiful Fox (Angelina Jolie, looking scarily thin but still wildly sexy) in a pharmacy, he's buying anxiety medication to help him avoid frequent panic attacks that occur when his ghastly boss yells at him. Soon a battle breaks out in the drugstore when the man who supposedly killed his father opens fire on the pair. It takes a bit of convincing, but Wesley eventually agrees to leave behind his miserable job, cheating girlfriend and backstabbing best friend for a life as a trained killer.
And how about that training, which is nearly as compelling and bloody as the job itself. Wesley is routinely beaten, cut and broken as part of the regime, but the assassins have a cure-all spa treatment of some sort that speeds the healing process to a couple of hours. Some of the film's more far-fetched elements are guaranteed to generate a laugh or two from audiences. For example, these assassins are also master weavers who get their assignments from code imbedded in the stitching of what is essentially a loom of fate. Yeah, okay. Still, the elaborate loom makes for some great visuals, especially near the end when it all comes crashing down and forms a massive web. Bekmambetov never misses an opportunity to maximize his visual palette. He tracks a bullet backwards from a target's brain matter back into the gun blocks away. And then there's this train crash set piece that will reach deep into your lungs and pull the breath right out.
Shot primarily in Chicago (around the time DARK KNIGHT was in town as well), WANTED takes great advantage of some of the city's best-known features as well as a few lesser-known, but no less beautiful landmarks. I particularly liked the car chase through Lower Wacker Drive and the way Jolie and McAvoy ride the tops of the aboveground trains as part of their training and eventually as a means to drop a target.
WANTED's double- and triple-crosses get a little obvious and old after a while, but not enough to ruin the fun time I had watching this kinetic ball of violence. Make no mistake, the film earns its R rating with enough blood splatter, knife gashing and head trauma for 20 movies. But unlike other films that treat violence as some sort of regretful last resort, WANTED relishes and wades waist deep in its glorification of blood and guts. It's actually refreshing. The camera flies through the action like it's on wings, and I got caught up in the energy of this aggressive, defiant whirlwind of a film. If you have a strong stomach and don't get headaches too easily from constant onscreen movement, WANTED will blow your tushy right through your seat. Who doesn't want that?
Capone
