Angelina Jolie Gets Naked and Lethal in Wanted
Written: Jul 04 '08 (Updated Oct 08 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Interesting plot. Good cast. Cool effects.
Cons: Few things were over used a bit. Extremely violent. Slow start.
The Bottom Line: Wanted had some problems, but I still enjoyed it overall and thought it was a decent action movie.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: Wanted |
I was interested in Wanted the first time I saw a trailer even though I wasn’t completely sure what it was about. I stayed interested as I learned more about the movie and decided that I wanted to see it.
Wesley Gibson was an office drone, working in a tiny cubicle with a boss who verbally abused him on a daily basis. He knew his girlfriend was having sex with his best friend, but he did nothing about it. Everything changed when one day a sexy and mysterious woman named Fox turned up. It seems that the father that Wesley had never known had been one of the best assassins in a secret group called The Fraternity. The group killed targets selected by fate. He had been killed by a former member of the group who had left. Fox took Wesley to see Sloan, the man in charge. They wanted Wesley to train to use his natural abilities so he could kill Cross, the rogue assassin. After some thinking - and telling off his boss - Wesley decided to join The Fraternity. He went through brutal training, eventually honing his skills and learning how to curve bullets.
Wanted was based on a comic book by Mark Millar. I have never read it, so I have no idea how much might have been changed for the movie. I have read a few things about it after seeing the movie and it seems like there were several changes. From what I have learned, The Fraternity was made up of super villains instead of assassins and the Fates had nothing to do with what was going on. People who enjoyed the comic books may not be happy with the changes, depending on how drastic they were.
Wanted started off by showing how Wesley’s father was killed before introducing Wesley and showing just how bad his life was. That part of the movie did move a bit slow and could bore some viewers. The action started when Wesley first encountered Fox. That sequence involved a shootout in a store and a wild car chase that was very impressive. Wesley did seem to be freaking out a bit during all of that. There were several action scenes throughout the rest of the movie, usually involving Wesley in some way. The action scenes were done well, though the slow motion at times and curving bullets did get a bit over used. I still thought the curving bullets were cool.
In addition to all the action, Wanted included a lot of violence. Characters were shot, injured, or killed throughout the movie. There were several gunfights or just hits on people that were shown. Some bullets were shown as they entered victims, and it was not pretty. Wesley went through a lot of training that was very violent and brutal and he was a bloody mess more than once. The violence was graphic and even a bit gory at times. This is not a movie for people who don’t like violent movies. It is definitely not a movie for children of any age to see. The movie deserved the R rating because of all the violence and swearing. I think all the characters swore and the word that rhymes with luck was used many times. There were a few things here and there that added a tiny bit of humor that helped to lighten the mood a bit.
I thought that the plot for Wanted was fairly straightforward, though there were a few twists and a surprise or two. I had suspected one development, but there were a couple of other things that I didn’t see coming. I do think that people need to suspend their disbelief to be able to enjoy this movie because there were a lot of wild or bizarre things going on. I thought that made the movie interesting. Others may just think it is weird or too different. I did think some of what was going on, including how The Fraternity got the names of targets from the Fates, was unique.
There was one thing that I didn’t think made sense considering one or two other things that had happened. I’m going to be vague with this part so that I don’t tell too much and spoil something for anyone still wanting to see the movie. At one point, one character admitted to doing something and then stated something else as fact that a second character completely believed. The second character didn’t even seem to consider that the first character might have just said what they did to cover their previous actions. Also, a third character never pointed that possibility out either. All that came out in a very charged situation, but it just seemed like that possibility should have at least been acknowledged. It was a minor thing, but it did bug me a bit.
Even though Wesley had a girlfriend, there was no romance in Wanted. They did not have a happy relationship. She - I think her name was Kathy - seemed to always be complaining about something to Wesley. When the elevated train kept her from sleeping, she woke Wesley up and acted like she expected him to do something about it. She was not a nice person. There were a few brief sex scenes that featured her and Barry that didn’t really show much. Wesley was shown without his shirt once or twice and he did look really good. Fox provided the only nudity for the movie, though she was only seen from behind.
None of the characters in Wanted were really good or heroes since they were assassins or connected to assassins in some way in most cases. None of them were developed much either. Wesley didn’t have much of a life before he met Fox and Sloan. He had a dead end job with a horrible boss who would hurl obscenities at him every time she talked to him. She was horrible. He didn’t believe what Fox and Sloan told him at first, but he eventually embraced his new life and developed his talents. James McAvoy was good in the part and made Wesley seem believable.
Fox was the sexy female assassin who first approached Wesley. She was very good at what she did and very little was shared about her. She had her reasons for being part of The Fraternity that she did share with Wesley at one point. I did think Angelina Jolie was good in the part. She did look very thin in some scenes. I remember that she had lost weight when her mother died and this was the first movie she made after that. Sloan was the only other member of The Fraternity that was shown much. He was in charge of the group and made the decisions. Not a whole lot was shared about him. I think he was an assassin earlier in life, but I could be wrong about that since it was never said for sure. I thought Morgan Freeman did a good job with the part.
Cross was only shown in a few scenes, usually while involved in a chase with members of The Fraternity. Basically nothing was shared about him. Several other members of The Fraternity were shown, usually in connection with Wesley’s training. Barry and Kathy were very flat characters, but that managed to work. Neither of them were that likable. Janice was Wesley’s horrible boss. I couldn’t stand the woman, so I was glad that she wasn’t in more of the movie. Terence Stamp had a small part as Pekwarsky, someone connected to Cross.
Main Cast
Morgan Freeman - Sloan
Kristen Hager - Kathy
Angelina Jolie - Fox
Thomas Kretschmann - Cross
James McAvoy - Wesley
Chris Pratt - Barry
Lorna Scott - Janice
Terence Stamp - Pekwarsky
Timur Bekmambetov - Director
Wanted was an enjoyable, mindless action movie. Certain things, like the curving bullets, were over used a bit, and there were a few other little problems, but it was an entertaining movie.
I would have given this review three and a half stars if I had the option. Since I don’t, I decided to round up to four.
This review is part of elvisdo’s 2008 Funny Pages Write-Off. It is also part of his 2008 Canadiania Write-off. Kristen Hager is originally from Ontario.
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Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Action Movie
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