In theaters. Rated R, 108 minutes. Trailer.
A fraternity of weavers turned assassins kill people with their extra-special sensory gifts and training. That weird synopsis is not what I was expecting based on the rockin' trailer and all star cast, but, alas, that's what I got. James McAvoy stars as Wesley Gibson, a pathetic worker drone that is sucked into a world of super-assassins after his father is killed, leaving him as the only person that has the bloodline necessary to save the fraternity. Morgan Freeman is Sloan, the sage leader of the Fraternity, while an aptly named Angelina Jolie is Fox, a head assassin and the trainer of Wesley. Click below to find out why mixing Office Space, Fight Club, the Matrix and Fantastic Four is a bad idea.
McAvoy's workaday job and malaise is reminiscent of Office Space and Ed Norton in Fight Club. He is weak and hates his nobody life. Once he realizes who he is, he goes to be trained by Fox and Sloan in a series of super-generic training rituals. Once he is ready to start his assassinations, he learns his power and goes after the man who killed his father. Lots of silliness ensues, as well as a decent plot twist. The film's final sequence is disappointing and involves peanut butter, rats and explosives, which should tell you all you need to know.
This is one of those movies where all the good parts are in the trailers. The best parts of the film are the 20 minutes of actual action footage, with cool shooting 
and driving sequences. I am a sucker for John Woo and Robert Rodriguez action, and its too bad D list director Timur Bekmambetov didn't give us more of it. McAvoy does well in the role, with lots of veiny acting going on, while Jolie apparently felt her character's main attribute was to give knowing, smoldering looks while leaning. The main problem with the film is the ridiculous plot involving weavers, bending bullets, a monastery in 'Arabia' and fate. The script felt like it had been written and re-written by 20 different people. A huge disappointment.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Wanted - C
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5 comments:
that's too bad this is one that after the trailer I was pretty excited for.
i am still wanting to see this one, although i'm not too surprised by your review. the director (bekmambetov) is a russian who made his name on a couple of foreign films marketed in the u.s. as nightwatch and its sequel, daywatch. nightwatch had a horrible plot and amazing action visuals and sequences. daywatch as more of the same, without the amazing visuals....
Rotten Tomatoes has this at 75% fresh, which is crazy. The positive reviews I read after I wrote mine were mostly from Boomer critics that probably didn't want to look unhip by panning the film. Manohla Dargis ripped it in the Times, though.
I was rooting hard for it, but there is nothing interesting or cool that wasn't in the trailer.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to have a dissenting view on this one. While I totally concur that the plot is ludicrous, I found the action sequences to be great (if too over-the-top at times). The train wreck scene I thought was magic, and the visuals were sometimes stunning. The writing was horrible, especially in the beginning. By no means great, but quite enjoyable for me. B.
If by "magic" you mean retarded, I am right there with you. I am down with 'the old ultraviolence', but there has to be a better way to set up those scenes than rats and peanut butter.
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