Who hasn’t heard of Timur Bekmambetov? Everyone, I reckon… This review wouldn’t be fair without a short introduction about the movie’s director: Bekmambetov is the most successful Russian director of our present day, directing both “Nightwatch” and its sequel “Daywatch”, two of the most expensive and lucrative movies that Russia did, well, since ever. His unique sense of style and unorthodox story development managed to grab the English speaking audience, even if they didn’t fully understand his stories, since the presence of Russian culture in the thematic was a little overwhelming.
Enter “Wanted”, his first movie made in English, with famous celebrities, a ton of cash and a script loosely based on a Graphic Novel written by a Scott. The different problems that come up when a man that derives his creativity mostly from his misunderstood culture are only the tip of the iceberg for why “Wanted” was far from what Bekmambetov has to offer with the Hollywood infrastructure.
James McAvoy is Wesley Gibson, a bozo who is so miserable that it is comical rather than pitiful. He hates his job, his girlfriend cheats on him with his best friend and he’s troubled with the fact that he is anonymous amongst the populace (hey, even I have more Google hits than the guy). His life gets a big switchover when he is rescued from murder by a smoking-hot Angelina Jolie and discovers that he is, in fact, the son of the greatest assassin in the world, who was recently killed by the very man who just tried to kill him. His motivation then deviates into stepping in for his father in the Fraternity of Assassins and avenging his death.
My main grudge in this movie is with the script. While the creator of the novel had a great concept in hand, the screenwriter screwed the pooch by allowing himself the wrong creative liberties, while maintaining some ideas that just don’t fit in a movie, even exaggerated as this one. Sure, it’s cool to see people curving bullets, but this movie still tries to place itself into at least some scope of reality, and in that department the script is wholly inconsistent (Wesley gets fully trained in a month, from bozo to Neo… I don’t bite, even when people curve bullets, which is AWESOME!!!).
The cast is OK, and James McAvoy might be the next big thing in Hollywood, but MAN it hurts to see him try to speak American English. He is one of the best actors of his generation, and they didn’t even bother to give him a friggin’ speech coach to work with. I’m not just picking on it… The problem is that he seems so focused on letting his Scottish accent aside that he forgot to act all together, which is a shame, since Angelina Jolie (Fox), Thomas Kretschmann (Cross – Bad Guy) and, specially, Morgan Freeman, who plays the badass Fraternity leader Sloan, deliver satisfying, at times even good, performances… Even for an action film directed by a director who speaks (in interviews) like he just had a bottle of bad vodka.
Speaking of Bekmambetov, his presence is noticeable throughout the whole experience, since his completely unorthodox methods are what make “Wanted” a unique action experience, and consequently a movie worth watching, despite its many flaws. Every bullet shot, punch, jump, etc. has something special about it, be it a marking on the bullet or something like a big “FUCK YOU” that pops out of a keyboard when it is used to his someone in the face. Cross that with one of the best musical scores by Danny Elfman in recent memory (possibly Hollywood’s most unique composer) and you’ve got something that might seem a little off at first, but grows on you to the point of being very cool afterwards. Even with its crazy sense of style, “Wanted” is a far more accessible movie than “Nightwatch” or “Daywatch”, and is the perfect entry path to Bekmambetov’s vision of cinema for the non-Russian audience.
It is hard to review such an unbalanced movie, due to it’s inconsistencies, without bashing it too much… The script has more downs than ups and the excessive, often misplaced cursing is a telltale sign of an insecure screenwriter who wanted his dialogue to sound like Tarantino’s, except without the “cool”. That and McAvoy’s unexpectedly bad acting put a little bad weight on “Wanted”… But it still is a unique movie that should be seen, if only to see that there are still non-American directors willing to slap Hollywood in the face with innovative movie-making.
By the way, this is rated R, and by Bekmambetov’s history, this means blood. Not for the faint of heart.
[starreviewmulti id=1]
Popularity: 3%
This is a good example why more eastern european Director´s should work in Hollywood ;)
Or why James McAvoy should stay Scotish.