"Wanted" (2008) - Movie Review

How many times you have gone into a theater with notion of hating the movie? I guess not. How many times have you decided to judge a film by its trailer? Always. “Wanted” is a film I judged by its trailer and went in to hate it. And I was quite successful in doing that for a sufficient number of times and then I realized in the mean time. I am not bored or irritated or condescended. I am having fun of this pure adrenaline rush with defying plausibility of everything in this film. At the end of it, I completely got caught in to this insanely violent and ridiculously designed super hero stunts. What happened to me? I could not properly explain but let me make an attempt.

There is this “Fraternity” found thousand years ago when guns were not yet made its presence but the extremists of eliminating the “bad” people are omnipresent in individuals though. In this clan, there are “selected” few with super hero instincts and capabilities. Some of that would be bending gravity and come unscathed. If scathed, there is the bath of healing. Cut to current world with boring people and one of those will be the loser in identity crisis, Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy). A dude with serious problem of getting pushed over to be screwed around in work by his obese boss (Lorna Scott) with the title of Account Manager and in personal life by his girl friend (Kristen Hager) and best friend Barry (Chris Pratt).

Rules of cinema speak that his reincarnation should be coolest, meanest and bloodiest man by getting absorbed in to Fraternity for avenging his dad. Reason, do we need one? Blow up, shoot up and do cool stunts. They get orders from “fate” or who knows on a coded fabric, says the Sloan (Morgan Freeman) to assassinate. Why? Again, do we need one? Alright, it is to set “balance” and avoid chaos, as if the current earth is in complete order. But lets us bring the lovely vixen Fox (Angelina Jolie) to have the violent sexual tension along the twisting bullets and jumping cars, you get one of the most ancient form of action entertainment done million times. Yet, “Wanted” survives those clichés. Alas, it worked on speechless level. When Wesley questions the morality of this killing, Fox explains the cause and effect of killing one to save thousands. Yes, the very old greater good but what happened to the thousands they kill in the wrecked train, buses, countless cars and the missed bullets? For the zillionth time, do we need a reason?

“Wanted” is not the category wherein it is so bad that it becomes good fun. It seriously creates a side to side on in the end. But clearly its driving factor is the brainless chases and fights orchestrated in a manner I might hate myself saying this, to appreciate. The simplicity and the agility in which Jolie’s Fox lays down to avoid the tunnel on top of a fast moving train and the mere power presence she makes is fabulous. McAvoy gets the job of transforming from nobody in to this fearless man yet boyish in his charm and stylish in his execution.

The film is been adapted from a miniseries comic book by Mark Millar. It does not become a comic bookish in the environment but in the powers. The film deserving its R-rating pumps the energy in all the right senses. Since the idea of assassins is morally tips off the viewers to have a doubt on this clan, so does Wesley. The film which I insisted does not have lot of reasons for its behaviour acts on one in the end. And I was stunned by the placement of it when the mind has attuned to the flying gravity and intelligent ignorance to the viewers.

Director Timur Bekmambetov debuts in the Hollywood whose previous films are in Russian language. The neatness of the script is the placement of the scenes. It does not get embarrassed in the openly declared idiotic flying stunts but takes pride in the shot of the kinetics it provides with sufficient beauty. Something similar in the violence and graphically choreographed stunts was done in “Shoot em Up” which I got bored after a point. “Wanted” is in the same category but it limits when it knows. The film’s protagonist constantly questions his existence and identity which is not the case of the screenplay. It is more than aware of the people’s view on their Physics defying glamour and a plot weaved blatantly with big holes. And in making peace with their film making, they have escaped a death blow and amazingly used that force to lift up the film.

“Wanted” is mindless action film which does not pretend to be real. And when it tries to be real, it exists in the universe it created. These kinds of movies surprise me and I wonder within on what caused me to like this brainless flick. More than that, I have been questioned by friends on the scale level I put on each film. I have been said to take high pedestal on very many films and if that is the case, “Wanted” would have been thrashed to many levels. I believe the standard is set by the film itself, how moderately financed or has a bar low set for itself. I might not be able to come up with set of rules to define those but it floats in the film. “Wanted” is an example on a film which can be entered with preconceived notion to be proved otherwise even with unbelievably chaotic idiocy and stupendous insanity.