Sunday, November 02, 2008

Wanted (2008)


I thought at once the curving bullet was a deal breaker for me. Why should it curve even if you fire a pistol as a pitcher would throw a baseball? So it was then I decided not to watch Wanted in the theaters.

I turned back on my decision because of the lack of anything to watch. There weren’t many A-list films in the offing and I was getting tired of trying out new TV series to enjoy. Surprisingly the film had more meat than I expected.

The topic is not entirely unique and I have seen it play out in a number of movies and also in a number of different ways. The TV series Heroes played with it a little. Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx had some banter about it in Collateral. Even Batman Begins played with it a little. The topic is simply answering the question of what is a person’s purpose in life. And, if you found it would you see it fulfilled at whatever cost?

James McAvoy is Wesley Gibson a boring accountant. You know the stereotype: 8-5 job and always looking at the horizon of something more, but never getting the nerve to impose himself. McAvoy’s performance was ok. If he had any shortcoming at all it would be on his accountant persona.

Fans of Angelina Jolie may be disappointed for her role as Fox as she is nothing more than a supporting cast. It was McAvoy all the way, providing the emotional element for most of the film. Wesley Gibson’s purpose in life is what it is all about, among other things of course. But she was great at it, never coming off too strong or too weak.

Morgan Freeman is Sloan the head of a secret society of assassins known as The Fraternity. He was just perfect as a father figure and leader. The filmmakers deserve applause for having a cast that compliments each other. It was a perfect mix of story and characters. Everything was paced just beautifully.

And now back to the action. It can be cute at times going ala-Matrix with some beautiful cars and weaponry along the way. But somehow assassinations and mystical powers don’t mix well. Even with the liberty of being superhuman in the Matrix I don’t remember curving bullets. So in the end, judging the action depends on how well the idea of a secret society of assassins can be almost magical at the same time will depend on you.

As for the moral of the story, the purpose in life; lets just say don’t do this at home folks. It would be right to impose yourself but going from a subservient accountant scared for his life to a highly trained assassin is a little insane to say the least. If that happens there will be a lot of trouble in offices everywhere.

Just watch the movie if you want to know what I mean. Surprisingly it’s not that bad even if it’s not that good, but for an afternoon of easy to watch action it is perfect.

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