Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
2/4
"Wanted" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 12/21/2011
A downtrodden working stiff who wishes he had more from life discovers one day that he is a super-powered assassin who can bend the laws of physics. Hmmm...I'm pretty sure I've heard this somewhere before. Not to mention the "phew it was only a dream...oh wait, no it wasn't!" scene and the beautiful stranger who becomes his personal Yoda. In fact the entire plot is utterly ludicrous ("Loom Of Fate"? Riiiight...) and the majority of the film is basically the Rocky montage done in the style of The Matrix while McAvoy whines and howls to the point of distraction. There are some slickly directed set pieces and it does have its moments, but they're all just on a very superficial, eye boggling level. In its favour it never gets dull and I actually enjoyed it first time around, but if you …
Rating of
1/4
Really dim film
mimschkin - wrote on 01/25/2010
Wanted, when it boils down to it, is basically a gun fetish movie. Somebody else on here pointed out that it reminded him of Fight Club, but couldn't put his finger on why. Here is why: the main character of Wanted pretty much lifted the narrator of Fight Club and inserted him into a sub-mediocre film about guns.
So the plot is: the narrator from Fight Club (James McAvoy) realises his life sucks just in time for Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman tell him he stems from a long line of assassins who kill people because THE LOOM OF FATE tells them to, and that his life doesn't suck anymore. He undergoes some training where he learns to curve bullets because that's cool or something? Whatever. In any case, he basically gets given a gun and then he feels like an empowered man because he can …
Rating of
3.5/4
Wanted
The Movie Man - wrote on 05/13/2009
Wanted is a Highly Energized and Absolutely Well Done action film. Director Timur Bekmambetov has made a well paced action ride that is entertaining from the very start to the very finish. The talented James Mcavoy is well chosen for the lead, giving a solid seriocomedic performance. He is in good company with Angelina Jolie giving a good and (of course) sexy performance as one of Mcavoys fellow assassins and Morgan Freeman giving a surprising mellow, yet just right performance as the man in charge. The story is good, The screenplay is great, The cast is perfect. The Special Effects are mind-blowing using the same idea of slow motion that The Matrix created but doing it much better. This film is great fun and the good thing is, it doesn't take itself to seriously.
Rating of
3/4
For People with Short Attention Spans
Franz Patrick - wrote on 09/09/2008
Although a bit overhyped, this is an entertaining action flick. It’s pretty much a fusion between “The Matrix” and “Night Watch” with a bit of comedy that summons “Office Space” during the first half. James McAvoy is very convincing as an alienated worker, boyfriend, and friend but remains charming throughout the picture. Angelina Jolie is beautiful as usual and I was glad to see her again as a chick that can kick men’s ass, like in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Although the story is interesting, the film didn’t explore its core as much as it should have so it resulted to a weaker picture. I feel like the middle part–when McAvoy is taught how to control his abilities–is a bit extended and the conclusion was not fully realized. If they had gotten rid of most of the …
Rating of
4/4
I can shoot backwards too
Owtkast - wrote on 08/27/2008
First: I have to admit not being a fan of the Director, Tim Bekmambetov after seeing NightWatch. I loved his cinematic style and special effects sequences in that movie but felt the story fell apart by the end. Second: I have skimmed through the comics in which this movie Wanted is based on and never really got into them. Finally: This movie delivers!! An abundance of profanities and over the top action sequences that are beyond reality to the extreme could have sunk this movie to the bottom of the sea - but due to the interesting and visual techniques, humor and actual acting within the film it swims - if not winning a gold medal at least the bronze. James McAvoy (the sweet faun from the Chronicles of Narnia) plays the loser we all know, Wesley Gibbon. The guy, who just trudges through …
Rating of
1/4
A poor film on all regards
Ichabod Crane - wrote on 07/27/2008
A film that's action has no story behind it. The story makes little sense. It really is not much like the comic book series by mark millar at all. Rather than being super villains their assassins. And instead of doing super villains things, they kill people that come from a list that tells names, that rips off minority report a bit much. The most faithful thing that even is not that faithful is the critique on normal life. Which really kinda ripped off Fight Club even in the comic. But I suppose you do not care about the story its about the action, which just is not that great. The action really all is a bit much, and a bit over directed. Especially the slow motion stuff. And really there is not that much action since so much of it is the main character being trained to be an assasin, …
Rating of
3/4
I wanted to like this one more
kcvidkid - wrote on 07/02/2008
Reading the "Wanted" graphic novel was a truly exciting and original experience for me. Before seeing the movie, I knew that certain elements would not be translated to the screen. I mean, who would want to see a movie where the protagonists are an elite society of super-villains who finally succeeded in killing the entire population of the world's super-heroes, then erased their memory from the general population? That's pretty dark stuff for summer movie fare, especially when we already have Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Batman selling tickets in record numbers.
Actually, the plot follows the graphic novel pretty closely. It's just that this dark history is never revealed. I guess I could use that information to provide hidden subtext. However, late in the movie is a …
Rating of
3/4
I Got What I Wanted
Chris Kavan - wrote on 06/28/2008
This has all the elements for a perfect summer film: lots of action, sexy characters, plenty of attitude, humor, stunning revelations (that you may or may not see coming), great special effects and an insane yet likable story.
Wanted shows you what life would be like if an ordinary drone (namely you, the target audience) suddenly found themselves part of something amazing - in this case a 1000-year-old guild of crazy-good assassins. Needless to say, this involves lots of violence and blood, fast car chases and exploding rats (yes, PETA must really be upset this time - thought they are of the CGI variety). Of course, if Angelina Jolie were my trainer, I would do everything in my power to become master assassin too.
You don't go into these kind of movies for deep story or plot, but …
Rating of
3/4
Matrix Reloaded...
BryanFury - wrote on 06/28/2008
A little bit similar with the theme of The Matrix but fortunately Wanted holds up its own with its unpredictability and diversified style of filming. The direction is probably the most important factor that made this film stand out. I almost dislike it halfway through but then as soon as I'm about to roll my eyes up in disappointment things took an unexpected 180 degree turn. Not everything is what it seems to be, which I almost went for. I really thought that after being wowed during the first twenty minutes I was going to be immensely bored after things began to slow down. And seeing a very a familiar hero’ish type of movie is pretty much been there done that countless of times, I was pleased to assessed that this movie did not take that road and did just the opposite. It takes a …
Rating of
3/4
Insanely Ridiculous and Insanely Fun
newmans_own - wrote on 06/27/2008
The entire film can be summed up in two words: sheer insanity. How insane are we talking? Think exploding rats and looms of fate. Director Timur Bekmambetov has taken a breath – albeit a very short one – between now and in 2004 when his too-frenetic-to-comprehend NIGHT WATCH was unleashed on the world. The film features some of the most mind-bending action seen on screen in years; people are thrust inside moving cars and bullets bend around obtrusive objects, but Bekmambetov is quite successful in taking all these wild elements and combining them into something even vaguely understandable. Even the most ridiculous occurrences – say, a person jumping out a skyscraper window and making it to the building opposite – are acceptable in Bekmambetov’s abnormal vision of …
