Wanted

Twisted, crazy-fast bedlam mixed with the desire to lift yourself up from a boring life, 'Wanted' takes the rags-to-riches hero cliche and delivers it a roundhouse kick followed by a penetrating bullet to the brain. Calling the movie insane doesn't begin to cover it; it's KERAZY.

Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) leads a pathetic life that he wishes to escape, and by chance, the death of a seemingly anonymous man atop a building is the catalyst for his life to completely change tack, as assassins Fox and Sloane (Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman) induct him into the Fraternity, a group of killers who try to cleanse the world of those they deem it be rid of. However, a rogue assassin, Cross (Thomas Kretschmann), targets Wesley, and he tries to make sense of the crazy direction his life has taken without losing control along the way.

McAvoy has come a long, long way since his British TV days, and the actor carries off American, whiny and pathetic Wesley just as well as he portrays adrenaline-fuelled, Jolie-snogging Wesley. This is going to open doors for him, and hopefully more roles like 'Last King of Scotland' as well as 'Wanted' will come along as a result of his performance here. Morgan Freeman plays a slight variation on his mentor role, which is actually refreshing, particularly when his character swears, something that you'd never think Freeman would do, and indicative of the movie's ambition to mess with your head.

Jolie simply has to glare in this movie and you can sense a million men swooning. Though that's not to say she's there for her looks, as her ice-queen demeanour and waif-like appearance are perfectly matched for her character. Fox is an emotionless assassin, and Jolie plays it as such. She's not even in the film that much, but she does fine with the scenes she plays out, though it's clear to see it wasn't exactly a challenge. As with so many action films, there is Jolie and then no-one else feminine that stands out. Wesley's cheating girlfriend, along with his domineering boss are the only two female co-stars, and to be honest anyone could have played them and it wouldn't make a difference. They're anonymous characters that portray the facelessness of Wesley's old life, and the actresses do what they need to do.

The criminally under-appreciated Thomas Kretschmann ('King Kong', 'Downfall', 'The Pianist') plays Cross, the antagonist throughout, and he doesn't have anything to say, but the actor manages to present this cold, ruthless assassin just through expression (I may be biased, but he's a quality actor, and so he deserves the coverage even for this role). Terence Stamp and Common (never thought I'd mention the two in the same sentence) play variations on gunsmiths, and Stamp delivers exposition whilst Common presents the assassin's creed, along with Brit actor Marc Warren, as a bunch of soulless guns-for-hire; it's not a stretch for them.

Timur Bekmambetov moves from his mad-cap 'Watch' trilogy to Hollywood action, and the Eastern-European's propensity for the most ridiculous stunts (please watch 'Night Watch' for a visual comparison to what I'm saying here, you'll understand) is carried over seamlessly to the U.S. I only hope he gets more work, as the film presents some of the most insane visuals I've ever seen (real or not).

Taking the bare bones of Mark Millar's 'Wanted' comics, Bekmambetov doesn't so much direct as allow everything to go off onscreen, and whilst sometimes this may be problematic, other times it really pays off. Despite the massive amount of action, the director manages to present the conflicts Wesley encounters quite well, and personalise the characters enough to show he is not all explosions and blood. McAvoy is the only character that really gets a personality though, which I guess is the point, but this does detract (as said above) from the other performances.

Much of what is said that is worth remembering is laced with profanity and humour, and these stretches are where the dialogue is best. Wesley's final line is brilliant, as is most of his sardonic and laconic voiceover. The exposition of the Fraternity's aims and workings is brief, but at least manages to convey its ridiculous nature. The film's use of songs is better than the soundtrack, which is basically your expected action film soundtrack (by perennial hack composer Danny Elfman no less). Nine Inch Nails' 'Every Day Is Exactly The Same' is apt to Wesley's story, and welcome exposure for an underachieving band. Use of the 'Pina Colada' song is the only other instance in which the music was entertaining however.

Like so many of the new wave of action films, the visuals are where 'Wanted' completely wins out. The CGI used in the film is obviously CGI, but it's excellent in context. When you've seen what happens with a Dodge Viper and a bus, and then later a passenger train and a ravine, it's evident that 'Wanted' doesn't give a damn what's real and what's not; it cares only about going over the top, and it totally achieves that. The anonymous American city conveys the nowhere-land Wesley has inhabited, and the move to Prague later in the story allows Bekmambetov to present the contrast with Eastern Europe, the duality of the Fraternity's headquarters in both the U.S. and Europe a good example.

The film is totally insane on every level, and what lets it down is the disinterest with which the actors play their characters. However, this is the only problem I had with this film, and any person can enjoy it, as long as their brain is firmly switched to 'OFF' or 'UP FOR ANYTHING', because no thought is required here.

8/10