Wanted (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Timur Bekmambetov

Writers (WGA):

Michael Brandt (screenplay) &
Derek Haas (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Choose your destiny.

Plot:

A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.

Plot Keywords:

Fraternity | Assassin | Boss | Superhuman | Killer

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 11 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 20

8:00 PM

HBO

Cast

James McAvoy	...	Wesley Gibson
Morgan Freeman	...	Sloan
Angelina Jolie	...	Fox
Terence Stamp	...	Pekwarsky
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Cross
Common	...	Gunsmith
Kristen Hager	...	Cathy
Marc Warren	...	The Repairman
David O'Hara	...	Mr. X (as David Patrick O'Hara)
Konstantin Khabenskiy	...	The Exterminator (as Konstantin Khabensky)
Dato Bakhtadze	...	The Butcher
Chris Pratt	...	Barry
Lorna Scott	...	Janice
Sophiya Haque	...	Puja
Brian Caspe	...	The Pharmacist

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Ireland:16 | UK:18 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Malaysia:18SG | USA:R (certificate #44457) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | South Africa:16 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | France:U (with warning) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:18 | Germany:18 | Argentina:16 | Japan:R-15 | Sweden:15 | Spain:18 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Peru:18 | Denmark:15 | Austria:16 | India:A | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

James McAvoy screen tested for the lead role in early 2006 but was initially rejected as the studio wanted a more conventional Hollywood man. He was later recalled as the producers considered him more of a 'runt of a litter'. The studio ultimately changed their minds, and wanted someone geeky.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Both kill orders include a statement, starting "I Hereby Acknowedge..." It should be spelled "Acknowledge".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Wesley: [voice-over] It's my anorexic boss' birthday. This means there's a certain amount of inter-office pressure to stand around the conference table, eating crappy food and pretending to worship her. Acting for five minutes like Janice doesn't make all our lives miserable is the hardest work I'll do all day. My job title is account manager. I used to be called an account service representative, but a consultant told us we have to manage our clients, and to not service them. I have a girlfriend who I neither manage or service. That's my best friend Barry fucking her on an Ikea kitchen table I picked up for a really good price. I'm finding it hard to care about anything these days. In fact, the only thing I do care about is the fact that I can't care about anything. Seriously, it worries me. My name is Wesley Gibson. My dad walked out on my mom when I was seven days old. Sometimes I wonder if he ever looked into my baby blue eyes and asked himself "did I just father the most insignificant asshole of the twenty-first century"?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You Are My Sunshine

WANTED: The Matrix with a great sense of humor.

I am a huge fan of Mark Millar's Wanted. And so, when I entered the theater with a friend on an advance screening pass (comic book store owners are very nice people to befriend), fear gripped me. It HAS to suck...right? It's Hollywood...and a "loose" adaptation...

And so, once the credits rolled, and I was one of the many people laughing and clapping, the fear had long passed.

The films works. It provides the amazing opiate of style and dark humor, and in such massive quantities that both evoke the spirit of the source material and utterly ignore the latter 90% of the graphic novel. But that independent streak works for Wanted. You feel a sense of amused wonder and curiosity throughout, and all the plot twists that follow are different enough from the source to actually hold your attention without ever being prematurely obvious.

James McAvoy does an excellent job, and his wry, sarcastic narration sets the mood of the film perfectly. His evolution from pansy to Neo has a genuine and pleasantly arrogant feel to it, although the stereotypical Rocky-esquire training montage is used to speed things up a bit (what a tiresome tool). Basically, his version of a cinematic Neo is both smarter, more entertaining, and more intelligent.

Backing him up, more with sexy looks and an "I'm too cool for you; you're not Brad" attitude than anything, is Angelina Jolie. Her character screams Trinity. And loudly. Regardless, watching her on-screen is a pleasure. She's terribly likable, and extremely lethal throughout.

Morgan Freeman's Morpheus, called Sloan here, is played well, although the role is a bit beneath his skill as an actor. He makes it work though, playing the wizened and mature helper very well. More importantly, he delivers an excellent (and unexpected) line that rivals Samuel L. Jackson's memorable expression from Snakes on a Plane. That alone makes any price of admission worthwhile.

Any other character serves as nothing more than white noise, there to populate the world rather than intrigue.

The theme of Wanted is all about taking charge of your life and making your own choices, something that the very premise of the first hour of the film both adheres to and contradicts. Rather than analyze it here (and waste time arguing the pleasantly mad logic of a movie where bullets bend stylishly), I'll leave that to the people who inevitably will, assuming the bullet-fu and gore don't completely captivate them (and they should). Wanted IS violent, truly, and yet it doesn't strive to turn every frame into a gory, action-packed orgasm. The film handles it with grace and a style I sorely wish more action movies took into consideration.

As bullets curve, heads get punctured, hilarity ensues, and rats explode (peanut butter rocks, BTW), you'll smile besides yourself.

This really isn't a superhero comic adaptation...it's The Matrix with a great sense of humor.

Enjoy it.