THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"Wanted"

Revisiting The Magic Bullet Theory, And Validating The [Wesley] Commission In The Process

By Omar P.L. Moore/June 27, 2008

When it comes to assassinations, "Wanted", which opened today across North America, showcases the magic bullet theory of the Warren Commission down to the very caliber.  Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who is still in the U.S. Senate and now battling a resurgence of cancer, may actually afford himself a tiny smile at the film's showcasing of the gymnastic abilities of speeding bullets.  It was Mr. Specter who was the architect of the magic bullet theory -- the idea that the mid-1970's Commission subscribed to that it was a single bullet that traveled and entered at multiple angles through, into and out of several different people in a matter of seconds on a fateful November day in Dallas in 1963, with that same bullet also ending President Kennedy's life.  Many people in America have rejected the Warren Commission's verdict on President Kennedy's assassination, but "Wanted" does quite a job to back it and send it into overdrive.

All historical comparisons aside, Timur Bekmambetov's "Wanted" celebrates the seduction of being number one with a bullet.  The film takes place in Chicago but was shot mostly in Prague and has flashy production design (John Myhre) and alluring cinematography (Mitchell Amundsen) but "Wanted" spends the majority of its running time chasing its own tail, with a plot and story that needed a lot more seasoning.  The film's occasionally impressive visual effects and stunt work -- resembling the energy and spirit of "The Matrix" -- hides the fact that "Wanted" has little in the way of substance to propel or distinguish it from other action thrillers.  In fact, in both tone and mood it is remarkably similar to last summer's "Hitman", a film which did for guns what "Wanted" does for bullets.  International soccer sensation David Beckham, who has had a film named in his honor ("Bend It Like Beckham") would be proud of the bending ability of the bullets in "Wanted" but would no doubt sheild his small children from this graphically violent film.

Granted, "Wanted" isn't a film to be taken seriously by any stretch, but the emptiness it embodies reflects that of its protagonist Wesley (James McAvoy), a nobody who is continually and painfully excoriated by his obese and unctuous boss (Lorna Scott).  Wesley's shrew-like girlfriend Cathy (Kristen Hager) cheats all over him right in his own house -- gentle lady, have you no sense of decency? -- with Wesley's best friend (Chris Pratt).  With friends like that . . .  Add to this the death of his own father, and Wesley has every right to feel depressed.  Wesley is a nervous sort and rather than seek counseling he is sought out by a shadowy group of renegades called The Fraternity, a group of fierce, brutal assassins whose code is to "kill one to save thousands".  This part of the film and much of what follows it makes "Wanted" as hollow as a blank fired from a gun, but the more bloodthirsty viewers of this action flick will delight in the fact that no blanks are discharged in this film -- all the targets -- the vast majority of them at least, are hit, mainly in the head.


You are what you kill: From left, James McAvoy as Wesley, Common as The Gunsmith and Angelina Jolie as Fox, in "Wanted", which opened across the U.S. and Canada today.  The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov.  (Photo: Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures; photo of "goodbye" bullet at top: Universal Pictures)

The problem with the story and the Fraternity is that there isn't any danger or much to save the outside world from.  No back story about society being overrun by evil.  No story about a maniacal man or wayward woman threatening the world's existence.  No hint of a world where human beings are endangered by menace.  So just what is the Fraternity's purpose, other than to dispatch of people in a tight circle?  (Imagine if the Central Intelligence Agency operated as boisterously as The Fraternity does in this film!)  The answer is that the plot and purpose of The Fraternity simply doesn't hold, nor does the idea that Wesley would turn into a cold-blooded assassin even after enduring rounds and rounds of torture and sadistic violence from The Fraternity's members -- Fox (Angelina Jolie), The Repairman (Mark Warren) and The Exterminator (Konstantin Khabensky).  Still, Mr. McAvoy does well as a whimpering American male thrust into a responsibility of dispatching of those he has been assigned to kill.  Mr. McAvoy, a Scottish actor, gives Wesley's American accent justice -- and in varying degrees and instances he sounds like Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton or Keanu Reeves.  He is entertaining even as his character's sudden increase in cash flow -- where does Wesley get this new sense of wealth? -- is mysterious. 

The real star of this broken but sometimes funny show however is the great Morgan Freeman as Fraternity leader Sloan.  Mr. Freeman delights in neutral and detached glances while maintaining an imperious demeanor.  He is wise.  And ice water runs through him.  Mr. Freeman utters several priceless lines, making Sloan a humorous figure if nothing else.  Rap star Common, who is fast assembling a film resume ("Smokin' Aces", "American Gangster", "Street Kings") is The Gunsmith, though he rarely gets to fire a gun at all -- like Ms. Jolie he spends more time exhibiting empty stares than employing action.  Ms. Jolie brings a harder-edge to Fox, and her character's name suggests a lot more than her character shows -- with the exception of one very notable scene.  Two fine actors are wasted in "Wanted" -- Thomas Kretschmann, underutilized as rogue Fraternity member Cross, and Terence Stamp, the venerable British actor (now in "Get Smart"), misused as Pekwarsky, who turns up almost three-quarters of the way through the events of Mr. Bekmambetov's film.  By then, the party's over, and relentless visual effects and stunts, both brilliant and banal, have thoroughly jaded even the biggest action fan.  Time to turn out the lights.

Notes: Mr. Bekmambetov, from Kazakhstan, makes his English language film debut with "Wanted".  He had previously directed "Day Watch" and "The Continuation", two of Russia's most successful films ever.  "Wanted" is based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones and the screenplay is written by Michael Brandt & Derek Haas and Chris Morgan, with Mr. Brandt & Mr. Haas writing the story.

"Wanted" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality.  The film's running time is one hour and 48 minutes.

Copyright The Popcorn Reel.  PopcornReel.com.  2008.  All Rights Reserved.

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