Josh’s Review: Wanted
Josh’s Score: 7/10
Ever think that you should be doing much more with your life than you monotonous daily routines? Well, Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) does. After seeing him deal with his annoying boss, cheating girlfriend, and horrible “best friend”, we start to understand that Wesley should be doing something different with his life. Luckily, faster than you can say Brad Pitt, Fox (Angelina Jolie) shows up to inform Wesly that he needs to come work for a secrete society of assassins known as The Fraternity, who is lead by Sloan (Morgan Freeman).
I really didn’t want to like this movie. After last year’s Shoot ‘Em Up, the trailers to Wanted looked like a rehash of the same movie. But I have to admit, Wanted is a lot of fun.
The film is all about shooting first and asking questions later, leaving much character development and plot in the dust, while there is some plot featuring double crossing agents and such. The action scenes do carry the film, with a spectacular train sequence that has outdone any action scene I have seen this year.
French director Timur Bekmambetov makes his American film debut, and does so with both barrels blazing. He makes Wanted a visually stunning film, much like when the original Matrix was released in 1999. However the film does seem to have come out a little bit too late, for Wanted has neither the philosophical or science fiction elements that made The Matrix a hit. While the acting isn’t anything special, Jolie and McAvoy do have good chemistry together, and blast their way through the movie with towering confidence.
Wanted maybe the least original movie out this summer, but the film’s sly sense of humor and incredible action scenes make for a fun popcorn experience. Isn’t that what the summer movie season is about?
