Review: Wanted (2008)

[Homer Yen]

"Wanted" More But Got Enough
by Homer Yen
(c) 2008

There's something alluring about watching a sleek and determined woman
dangle on the hood of a speeding muscle car while firing a shotgun at
a pursuer through city traffic.   Either you'll like the rush of
adrenaline or you'll snub your nose at its implausibility.  But, there
it is for you in all its mind-blowing glory.  "Wanted" is an action
film that is just like that speeding muscle car.  It's turbo-charged,
it's mean-looking, and it doesn't apologize for what it is.

Angelina Jolie must be the hardest working woman in Hollywood, period.
 Somewhere between voice-over work for films like Kung Fu Panda, being
a mom and taking care of her children in that mega-sized French Villa
that she and beau Brad Pitt just purchased, and ambassadorial goodwill
duties with the United Nations, she manages to find time to stay true
to her appeal.  That would be the gun-toting, don't-mess-with-me,
femme fatale.  First it was Lara Croft.  Then it was Mrs. Smith.  Now,
in her latest film, it's Fox the Assassin.  You can't fault someone
who exudes confidence.  She knows that she's hot and she has the
body-length tattoo to prove it.

But is a kick-butt heroine enough to power a film?  Well, not really,
although there's no denying the energy in this film.  We know early on
that the film is not focused on deep character development.  Why?
Because Angelina Jolie, gun-in-hand, looks like a world-class
assassin, and here she plays a world-class assassin.  Morgan Freeman
plays the wise and judicious leader of this fraternity of assassins,
and whenever you see Morgan Freeman, you can assume that he is wise
and judicious.  The interesting casting choice here is James McAvoy,
who plays Wesley.  His previous roles include Mr. Tumnus in "The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and the
attractive poolboy in the romantically tragic "Atonement".  Wesley
begins his training because his recently murdered father was, at first
unbeknownst to our corporate-cog-cum-killer, a member of the
fraternity.  And now Wesley and the fraternity want revenge. Happily,
the transformation from meek office worker to world-class assassin in
this film was fairly convincing.

As Wesley is trained, the experience is pretty brutal.  It involves
being tied up in a chair and getting punched and pounded until you
either come to your senses or lose all of your senses.  It also
involves liberal knife fights.  The easiest part of his schooling
involves a Capture-the-Flag kind-of-game that happens atop a
fast-moving subway.  This stuff prepares him so that he can somersault
cars, curve bullets (don't try that at home), and infiltrate a heavily
guarded facility.  Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason.  But there is
always machismo and bravado in every scene.

The film benefits from good-timing because the 2008 summer movie crop
has, thus far, been an anesthetizing experience.  I haven't seen an
adrenaline-infused "R" rated film yet.  So, the liberal cursing, the
ample violence, and the oozing sexuality are actually a welcome
change.  Like Angelina Jolie's lipstick, "Wanted" is a glossy thrill
ride.  And I said it before: either you'll like the rush of adrenaline
or you'll snub your nose at its implausibility.  I felt the rush.

Grade:	B
S:	3 out of 3
L:	3 out of 3
V:	3 out of 3