Wanted (2008)

Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Format: Theater
Starring: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann

Movies involving hit men, secret societies and slo-mo gun shots aren't scarce these days, nor have they been for quite some time. So, why do they keep showing up in theaters? Well, the reason is obvious - they make money. People world-wide love to see a good shoot-out. But, the spaghetti westerns of old have given way to more high-tech weaponry and flashy special effects. I think the art of the gunfight was renewed here in the United States, when John Woo was discovered. His films in Hong Kong, like Hard Boiled and The Killer, made battling with guns beautiful. Seeing Chow Yun Fat and Danny Lee face off was like well-choreographed Kung-Fu. Sadly, much of Woo's magic was lost upon arriving on American shores. Then in 1999, The Matrix showed us that, if you can slow down bullets you can be a superstar. Watching Wanted reminded me a lot of the Wachowski brothers' successful debut.

Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) is a typical cube-farm drone with no backbone to speak of. His girlfriend's cheating on him, his boss is a royal bitch and his bank account is overdrawn. However, this sniveling anxiety-ridden excuse for a man soon discovers that he's meant for greater things. While filling his prescription at the local pharmacy, Wesley suddenly becomes the target of a mysterious gunman. As it so happens, he's the son of a magnificent assassin - one that just recently met a grim fate. Now the killer is after the young Gibson. Luckily for him, a member of a secret society of talented killers, Fox (Jolie), comes to his rescue. When ringleader Sloan (Freeman) and Fox reveal to Wesley his inheritance - mad gun fighting skills and a sizable chunk of money - he tells his boss to piss off and goes into training to become a badass.

Wanted borrows many plot devices from other films, but it doesn't feel like a rip-off. As in classic 70's-style martial arts films, the young star finds himself facing a fierce enemy and is defeated. So, the character spends the rest of the movie in training for a rematch. Wesley Gibson is a pathetic mess at first, but then finds a series of "masters" from which he can gain expert training so that he can hunt down his father's killer. Another oft-repeated element in recent films has been that of the disgruntled office worker shrugging off the shackles of modern society. Wanted has that feature too, somewhat reminiscent of an angry Edward Norton in Fight Club (but not quite as cool). Slow motion camera work and creative fight scenes are highly suggestive of The Matrix trilogy, complete with a sexy senior partner to guide the main character along.

So what is it, despite all the commonalities, that separates Wanted from so many other action genre fodder? Part of what makes this movie stand apart is the cast and director. Angelina Jolie, for me, is a gamble when it comes to performance. In films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Good Shepherd, I found her a bit annoying and lacking any special spark. She performs terrifically, however, in this movie. She's sexy and mysterious, but very dedicated (not to mention her bitchin' tattoos). (I nearly wrote "not just eye candy", but everything in this movie is eye candy) Morgan Freeman is generally a safe bet as a seasoned actor, but is very similar to his character in Lucky Number Slevin. Would you have recognized James McAvoy from his role as the fawn in Narnia? I think not. He manages to make the transformation from wormy loser to steamy assassin in Wanted without much trouble. I always have a tendency to respect an actor more if he's shown a bit of range. Even the side characters, like The Butcher (Dato Khabensky) and The Repairman (Marc Warren) are fun to watch. My favorite of them was probably The Exterminator, played by Konstantin Khabensky. Khabensky has worked with Russian director Bekmambetov before as his supernatural anti-hero in Night Watch and Day Watch. As a fan of those films, it was a treat to see the actor have a small part in Wanted.

Bekmambetov was a good choice to helm this film. There's something fresh in his work that may lie in his use of light and colors. He's also got skills when it comes to using the slo-mo effect without over saturating. I'm sometimes reluctant to see successful directors in other countries make a movie in the U.S. Rarely do the producers here allow them to really be themselves without white-washing the film for our domestic audiences. However, Wanted, though not as dark and moody as Night Watch, still has plenty of the director's flavor intact.

Wanted was not a disappointment. Some of what you may have seen in the trailers does not actually show up in the final cut of this film, but that doesn't make it less of a cool flick. There aren't any lulls long enough in this movie to detract from the pulsating action. The dialog could have used a bit of a pick-me-up, but that's hardly more than a minor note in an otherwise fun time. I'd check out Wanted while it's still in theaters, as it's liable to lose some of its impact on a small screen.

Overall Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Hottie Rating: 4 stars

Alternate Recommendation: La Femme Nikita
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