Wanted
Apart from being influenced by the comic book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, this brutal and ballsy R-rated action thriller also takes inspiration from “The Matrix,” John Woo, “Fight Club,” “Leon the Professional,” and the Bourne trilogy in telling the story of Wesley Gibson, an ordinary nobody whose life suddenly takes a turn to the surreal. Turns out his father was one of the world’s deadliest assassins and a member of The Fraternity, a century’s old organization of assassins who get their kill orders from, wouldn’t you know it, textile looms. Now The Fraternity is wanting to train him in their ancient ways, which include a high tolerance to pain, curving a bullet, and seeing things in slow motion, which can also lead to being able to shoot the wings off a gundart, er, a, housefly. (Sorry, had a moment of “Star Wars” geekiness for a second.) Well, if it also means hanging out with an insanely hot Angelina Jolie as my teacher, and allowing her to smack me around, count me in.
“Atonement’s” James McAvoy plays Gibson, and while he has the acting chops to play an office drone trading in his hum-drum life for a life of excitement and danger (he keeps you interested in Wesley’s journey to find himself), try as he might, he’s no Matt Damon, and his Wesley is no Jason Bourne. And Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (whose cult faves “Night Watch” and “Day Watch” trade on style much more than substance, something that carries over into his 1st American film) is no Paul Greengrass, who brought gritty excitement to the last two “Bourne” films, although his visual chops are up to the challenge. It helps that he’s recruited a mischievous musical master (Danny Elfman) to help bring wicked life to mindless mayhem. Elfman’s score is a winner- imaginative if not terribly memorable in the long-run- but it can’t cover up the pure mindlessness of the proceedings, which rates high on the “WTF?” meter. (As secret as any society is, it’s hard to imagine nobody at least having theories on its’ existence- hasn’t “National Treasure” or “The Da Vinci Code” taught us anything? Also, I find it hard to believe there aren’t more chapters worldwide.) Having Jolie around for hot-blooded action thrills as Gibson’s instructor Fox (has a name ever been more appropriate?) and Morgan Freeman around for wily gravitas as Fraternity leader Sloan help let in the fun, but I can’t be the only one who just left the theatre feeling there was a little too much of everything but the one thing any film needs…levity.
