DIRECTOR: Timur Bekmambetov
If you'd like the actual slightly lucid review part, skip to the second paragraph, if you want to read a uncessarily lengthy war chant for the action film READ ON brave soldier:
If you’ve ever been forced by someone with curly hair and glasses (whose name rhymes with Ustin), to read Film Junkies before, you know that that I like my action movies. Nothing gets me razzled up like the motion, movement and aw-shucks excitement that accompany a good double barreled gun fight, bloody knuckled fist fight and gravy covered food fight. Sadly, most people view the action film with the disdain they give the cheapest beer in the liquor store. “Action? That’s for stupid un-literal people with only half an iota of intelligence” a friend once told me as he sipped on his Speckled Hen. I can see where they’re coming from. He believed that action films are made up of nothing more than a bevy of explosions, millions of shell-casings and a high body count. WRONG. I’m not trying to stand on my high horse either. I’ll even hit rock bottom and defend action that works as spectacle and spectacle alone. I like to be invested in the character but it isn’t a must. That’s like saying that I need to listen to the whole album to enjoy one song. I know that I like my action stylish, acrobatic and over the top. There’s a grace that can be achieved through suspension of disbelief and physical harm that can match the greatest musical number or work as little mini dramas (John Woo, action maestro, always called his films “Bullet Ballets”). It’s one of the reasons that I love Hong Kong martial arts over the stiff bare chested muscle fests that qualify as American Action. At least, it used to be that way before The Matrix came along. Now, everyone’s aping the Hong Style. And sometimes, it’s nice to see something different. Here, we have something that’s exactly that. It’s based on the anti-super-hero comic book by Mike Millar, strips everything but the assassin part from the story and then proceeds to kick the whitewashed blockbuster in the balls. How do they pull it off? Blood, style, swearing and an anti-conformity message wrapped up in big budget gloss.
Directed by Russian Timur Bekmambetov, the man who helmed the visually audacious but frustratingly muddled Night Watch and Day Watch films in his native home. Here in his American debut, he keeps his style intact while sticking to a linear narrative that’s perfectly suited for his quick cuts and excessive use of slow motion. John Mcvoy (The ultimate skinny non-physical type) is endearing as the everyday loser Wesley Gibbons, a man who discovers that he’s the son of the world’s greatest assassin. The truth comes with the catch Wesley now has to step into his father’s shoes. Thankfully, he has a few hereditary si-fi/fantasy powers to keep him going (The ability to curve bullets, jump across buildings in a single bound, slow down time, and make-out in slow motion with Angelina Jolie) and he’ll need everyone one of them if he expects to work for “The Fraternity”, a secret society led by a paycheck eager Morgan Freeman.And for all the marketing hu-bub, Angelina Jolie is a tattooed non-presence that smiles craftily every few minutes. The story is unsurprising in its denouement but it’s the films over-all feel that works. It's style built upon style. The action here isn’t abundant (I counted three total ‘set-pieces)’ but when it does appear it’s hits the audience over the head with bloody mayhem and creative gag after gag. I don’t care how long you many bullet are wasted because if it doesn’t continually make me go ‘WOW’ I’m not interested. Wanted had me WOW-ING at the top of my lungs. People actually applauded during choice beats and that’s a tell a tale sign that the things are working. It’s refreshing to see a film that wears an R rating proudly on its sleeve. We’re even fooled to root for a protagonist who by the end of the film, is pretty much an asshole.
If you want yourself a fun expletive filled time at the movie’s…well…Wanted Wants You!
P.S: I punched the guy in the face who insulted action movies, stole his speckled hen, and then said a one liner that ended in a horrible pun. And then, I cried myself to sleep because the only way I can communicate is through violence.
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