Review of Wanted

Forget the recent Indiana Jones film. If you want an action movie that won't falter in keeping the adrenaline on the highest possible level, stop right here. Sure, the recent Indy flick had some cool stunts, and it wasn't necessarily a bad movie, but it just became shockingly underwhelming in its last half hour after a series of great action-packed sequences, and with movies like these, one of the main purposes should be to give audiences a kickass ending. Indy 4 didn't give us that, but Wanted most definitely does. It (literally) goes out with a bang, even making the gutsy move of kicking audience members in the balls with the bold question it asks them right before credits roll.

Last year, James McAvoy gave a decent performance in Starter For 10 (an okay movie, but nothing special at all) and an incredible one in the masterful Atonement, but neither of those two performances would've given you a glimpse at how badass he could be. I guess that's also because of the boyish Scottish charm he has to him, but all that is deceptive as hell, because he is incredibly badass here, and yes, "badass" is the most appropriate word I can come up with to describe what he does with Wesley in Wanted. It's not just that he's awesome in the action sequences; it's also the wisecracking slyness we get from him in Wesley's voiceovers and in the dialogue-oriented scenes, which, believe it or not, there are several of those (I was worried when some critics were saying that the movie was fully action-based and never let up, and while that is largely true, there's a decent amount of dialogue-based moments that provide necessary respite). If anything, his only occasional failing is his American accent, and this problem usually comes across only in his voice-overs. But to be honest, if you compare his American accent to that of Jim Sturgess in the recent 21, McAvoy's accent seems near-perfect.

Though both him and Angelina Jolie are getting billing as lead actors, hers is more of a supporting role, so he's the one who has to carry this film and he's amazing in doing so. To make things even better, there is a scene around the second half of the film in which he is wearing jeans and no shirt, and looks steaming hot. I may have gasped louder during that scene than in any of the action sequences. And guys need not worry, because Jolie does show her bare rear end at one point. So, there's something for everyone. :)

I had no doubt that Jolie was gonna pull this one off easily. She's basically played this character before, as both Jane Smith and Lara Croft. Much like her Jane in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, her character in Wanted (named Fox, aptly I suppose) is a reticent femme fatale who means business and smiles smugly once she's achieved an objective. Contrary to what many people might say, she's a stupendous actress, and I don't mean to suggest that this is the only type of role she can pull off well, because that wouldn't be fair at all (just watch Girl, Interrupted or last year's A Mighty Heart). The backstory we get on Fox at one point during the film is particularly helpful in clarifying certain things that have happened and that will happen later in the movie. For those who claim that this movie is all action and no plot, they may be partly right, but Wanted has a thousand times more plot than most movies of this genre, and that's saying a lot.

One of the problems I did have with the film has to do with the scenes that depict Wesley's "training" process (featuring numerous instances of him getting beaten in several ways and tons of blood spilling all over the place). These scenes are not only far less effective than the film's action stunts, but they go on for too long; I felt like part of that running time should've been allotted to either extend certain action scenes (such as the train sequence, which could've benefited from some polishing in the editing room) or to further the plot with more dialogue-oriented moments. Also, the twist at the end is all too convenient, though I suppose it was necessary to have the climax work the way the filmmakers intended it to. Speaking of that, during the final showdown a speech is given by Sloan (Morgan Freeman) at one point, and were it not for the fact that Freeman was cast for this role, the speech might've felt sort of corny and lame. Thank God that there are actors like Freeman who can make so-so or bad material believable, and this is certainly not the only instance in which he's had to do this in a movie (in fact, to be fair, he's had to deal with A LOT worse).

Aside from being a heck of a thrill ride, Wanted uses what is admittedly a ludicrous plot to encourage people to get up off their asses and do something exciting with their life ("choose your destiny," as the cliched tagline exhorts). If anything, that encouragement, along with the sympathy we feel for Wesley, whom we initially meet as an average Joe who goes through life not doing much and has a boring job (like most people), is even more helpful in motivating the audience. Wesley isn't this invincible action hero (like, say, Bruce Willis' character in the Die Hard movies). He starts out as a regular guy, just like us, and he eventually turns, well, badass, thus making it far easier for us to become invested in the whole thing. Wanted is anything but boring, and very much worth checking out.