If you know me (and you probably do if you’re reading this blog), then you know I’m not generally a fan of pure action movies. You won’t find me in line for Mr. Bourne or Mr. Bond.
So it is perhaps a bit odd that I chose to watch Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and some punk named James McAvoy.
The trailers intrigued me. Was this action or superhero? Shoot’em up or Sci-fi? I couldn’t really tell, and that’s what drew me to the movie.
I’ll start off by saying that Wanted is one of the best action movies I’ve ever seen. The only problem with that is that I don’t really like action movies.
The action scenes in this movie are truly phenomenal. They do things with cars, bullets, and knives that I’ve never even thought of. In that way, Wanted has a very ‘Matrix‘ like edge to it.
Every single action scene in this movie is exciting, adrenaline-pumping fun where you’re never quite sure what may happen next. Guns replaced swords centuries ago, but it’s not until now that we truly see gunfights that hearken back to the swordfights of lore.
Some of the action is so creative that I don’t want to give away any of it here. The entire magic of the movie rests on its ability to create unique action scenes.
Luckily for the movie, the action scenes make up the bulk of the plot. When we’re fed the exposition it gets really silly really fast. The words I used when walking out of the theater were ‘neat but stupid.’
I had some issues with the original presentation of this hyper-realistic world only to have it crumble around me as the movie went on. This is similar to the same formula that the Matrix used, but at least the Matrix had explanation with its exposition.
The movie never really explains why there are people who can curve bullets, what allows them to curve bullets, or exactly the hows behind the contracts they receive. We’re just expected to fall into this superhero-esque world without explanation.
This works fine in some movies, but only if said movie accepts that it’s playing in a non-realistic universe from the beginning. Wanted can’t quite decide which universe it wants to play in.
Plot idiosyncracies aside, we get awesome performances from both Jolie and Freeman. They both exude confidence and agility.
I haven’t posted much about Jolie on the blog, but she truly is a unique human being. I think I don’t have a crush on her simply because she is such a beautiful and perfect specimen of a human being — so beautiful that she feels inaccessible.
In this movie she doesn’t fail to disappoint. She embodies the word alluring even while shooting people. That’s beauty.
I haven’t seen James McAvoy in much before this movie and I have to say that I’m not particularly impressed with him. He delivers a fine performance, and perhaps he’s even an above-average actor.
Unfortunately, he’s just not very charismatic. He comes across as some horrible love child of Tobey Maguire and Shia Labeouf. Some people may love him, but he falls in line with Claire Danes as one of those actors that I just can’t seem to like.
Overall, Wanted is a great action movie. Most of my readers like the action movies, and to them I say — go see it. You’ll love it. I’m not a fan of action movies, and for that it’ll get tilted a little low. That doesn’t mean it’s not great entertainment.
Verdict: B Tilt: C+