Wanted (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Timur Bekmambetov

Writers (WGA):

Michael Brandt (screenplay) &
Derek Haas (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Choose your destiny.

Plot:

A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.

Plot Keywords:

Fraternity | Assassin | Boss | Superhuman | Killer

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

James McAvoy	...	Wesley Gibson
Morgan Freeman	...	Sloan
Angelina Jolie	...	Fox
Terence Stamp	...	Pekwarsky
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Cross
Common	...	Gunsmith
Kristen Hager	...	Cathy
Marc Warren	...	The Repairman
David O'Hara	...	Mr. X (as David Patrick O'Hara)
Konstantin Khabenskiy	...	The Exterminator (as Konstantin Khabensky)
Dato Bakhtadze	...	The Butcher
Chris Pratt	...	Barry
Lorna Scott	...	Janice
Sophiya Haque	...	Puja
Brian Caspe	...	The Pharmacist

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Ireland:16 | UK:18 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Malaysia:18SG | USA:R (certificate #44457) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | South Africa:16 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | France:U (with warning) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:MA | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:18 | Germany:18 | Argentina:16 | Japan:R-15 | Sweden:15 | Spain:18 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Peru:18 | Denmark:15 | Austria:16 | India:A | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Vehicles featured include a Dodge Viper SRT-10 , 1966 Ford Mustang , Chevrolet Corvette [C4] , the police cars consist of Ford Crown Victorias and a 2000 Chevrolet Impala 9CI ,Elevated Subway Trains , Garbage Truck , a Chevrolet Step Van an Express Train and a 1971 VAZ 2101 Zhiguli.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the scene when Wesley is told to shoot the wings off the flies, Gunsmith holds a gun to his head. When he cocks the hammer back, there is a sound clip of a gun having the slide manipulated, not a click of a hammer.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Wesley: [voice-over] It's my anorexic boss' birthday. This means there's a certain amount of inter-office pressure to stand around the conference table, eating crappy food and pretending to worship her. Acting for five minutes like Janice doesn't make all our lives miserable is the hardest work I'll do all day. My job title is account manager. I used to be called an account service representative, but a consultant told us we have to manage our clients, and to not service them. I have a girlfriend who I neither manage or service. That's my best friend Barry fucking her on an Ikea kitchen table I picked up for a really good price. I'm finding it hard to care about anything these days. In fact, the only thing I do care about is the fact that I can't care about anything. Seriously, it worries me. My name is Wesley Gibson. My dad walked out on my mom when I was seven days old. Sometimes I wonder if he ever looked into my baby blue eyes and asked himself "did I just father the most insignificant asshole of the twenty-first century"?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Spyat Ustalie Igrushki

Do yourself a favour. Read the book!

So a friend told me how the book was very different from the movie, and made me read the book... and boy was he right. But more about that later...

I recall seeing one of the producers say in an interview that due to all the superhero movies out, they intentionally went for a more "realistic" approach. I kept this in mind as I watched this movie. That said, I can only say that it's good, not great.

James McAvoy, who I've been a fan of since "Rory O'Shea Was Here", does an acceptable job as the movie's main character. However, I couldn't help but notice his accent seem to be just a little off here and there, which was a little distracting for me. Morgan Freeman and Angelina put in some reliable, albeit unremarkable, roles. And Common, a guy who has more on screen gravitas than most actors, is sadly underused.

The action scenes, which are vital for a film like this are very good. There are plenty of "okay, that was pretty cool" moments for adrenaline junkies out there. (Fyi: McAvoy actually did the "on the car hood" stunt with no CG. Nice job.) The story is good, but considering the original story, it would have been really hard to make a horrible movie. The special effects do a good job of making you believe in the unbelievable and some interesting camera-work and slow-mo also do well to enhance the experience.

All in all, above average, but not outstanding. 6 out of 10 BONUS COMMENTARY: The real tragedy about this movie is what it COULD have been. The original comic book wasn't about him being an assassin, you see, it was about him training to be a supervillian! That's right, in a superhero world, he's the Green Goblin, or Lex Luthor, or even the Joker! Now imagine what that movie would have been like! Additionally, they had to train him to be a cold-hearted, homicidal, remorseless bad guy. The book, which is definitely not for kids, is chock full with so much f-you, in-your-face, unapologetic violence this version of the movie would have been looking at an R rating for sure. Anyway, if you get a chance, track down the book and have a read. You can thank me later.