I guess I should start off by saying Angelina Jolie is really skinny in this movie. Now that that's been said, I'll add that I wasn't initially too hyped to see Wanted. Don't get me wrong I still wanted to see it, after all Timur Bekmambetov is one of the masters of color when it comes to film making (Check out Day Watch and Night Watch). On top of that I pretty much want to watch every movie ever made. I even went to see Halle Berry in Catwoman. WOOF! Anyway, after seeing the first trailer like a billion years ago my interest slowly decreased as time went on. I was thinking about the film less and less. After reading some good reviews and getting a phone call from an exuberant SX0T saying how awesome the movie is and that I should check it out right away, I did just that... and this is what I thought.

The Rockin'

The movie is just that, Rockin'. The movie surrounds Wesley Gibson, played by James McAvoy, who is plucked from his pathetic office job to follow in his fathers footsteps as an assassin for a group know as "The Fraternity". Let me tell you, not only is Berkmambetov the master of color, the guy is a master of action as well. One of the biggest complaints I hear about the movie 300 is the over use of slow-motion during the action sequences. While in 300 they may have over used this technique a little, Wanted thrives because of said technique. The use of slow-motion allows us to read every inch of detail from the selected sequences portrayed in slow-motion. We see broken glass, heightened facial expressions, blood splatter, basically everything Berkmambetov wants us to take note of. There are car chases, shoot 'em up sequences, and some of the slickest special effects we've seen yet.
I have to give credit to the writing along with the amazing action sequences as to why the movie was so rockin'. The attention payed to the back story of The Fraternity is great. The back story is a unique one that has a lot of mystical and religious undertones about destiny and blind faith. And that's just the back story! The plot of the film is full of twists and surprises to keep you engaged the whole way through.
Some other fun elements include-
- The Konstantin Khabensky cameo (Night Watch, Day Watch)
- The fact that I wonder if McAvoy got voice lessons from Achton Kutcher
- Mice
- Time To Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman playing during an assassination
- Breaking the 4th wall
- Morgan Freeman's Language


The Not So Rockin'

Only because I have seen some of Berkmambetov's other work, I would like to have seen more play with overly saturated colors like we see in Night Watch and Day Watch. Since those movies involve vampires and Wanted tries to ground the movie in reality (slightly), I can't fault him for that much. Plus its nice to see that he is stretching his wings and giving us something new. But, his amazing sense of color is what I miss most. Other than that the movie has very few faults.

The Overall

This movie is a pleasant surprise. I had no idea that it was going to be one of my favorite movies of the summer. The cast was great, it's action packed, has slick special effects, a rockin' story, and it's definitely capable of being watch again and again. DVD purchase for sure.

Plus, below I posted a live performance of Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman sing Time To Say Goodbye.