Product Description

A YOUNG MAN FINDS OUT HIS LONG LOST FATHER IS AN ASSASSIN. AND WHEN HIS FATHER IS MURDERED, THE SON IS RECRUITED INTO HIS FATHER'S OLD ORGANIZATION & TRAINED BY A MAN NAMES SLOAN TO FOLLOW IN HIS DAD'S FOOTSTEPS.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #804 in DVD
• Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
• Released on: 2008-12-02
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com
As the impresario behind gravity-defying Russian blockbuster Night Watch, it's inevitable that Hollywood would come calling for Timur Bekmambetov. With a studio budget and an international cast, including two Oscar winners, Timur cooks up a Hong Kong-styled actioner bursting with fast cars and big guns. Our unlikely hero is mild-mannered Chicago accountant Wesley Gibson (Atonement's James McAvoy), whose father died when he was a tot. Wesley never learned to stand up for himself, and his girlfriend, boss, and best buddy all take advantage until the seductive Fox (Angelina Jolie) rescues him from a sharpshooter named Cross (The Pianist’s Thomas Kretschmann). After which, she whisks him away to a mansion on the edge of town to meet the other members of the Fraternity, where leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) informs Wesley that Cross, a rogue agent, executed his father. Sloan believes Wesley has the goods to take him out, so he undergoes the Fraternity's brutal training regimen (Marc Warren and Common dish up some of the abuse). When he's ready, Sloan sends him out to fulfill his duty, but matters become complicated when Wesley finds out someone isn't telling the truth, leading our former milquetoast to exact an elaborate revenge. For those who've been following McAvoy's career to date, Wanted will surely come as a surprise. In adapting Mark Millar's comic series, Timur offers buckets of blood and a smidgen of depth, but fans of The Matrix and Mr. and Mrs. Smith will want to give this one a look. --Kathleen C. Fennessy




Stills from Wanted (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Action, Action, and More Action
"Wanted" is a mile-a-second action picture that never lets up. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) suddenly finds that his life as an ordinary office worker is over. A beautiful woman, Fox (Angelina Jolie), crashes into his life and introduces him to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins led by the mysterious Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Wesley is informed that his long-lost father was murdered while working for the Fraternity and Wes has been chosen to target the rogue member who did it. Before he can complete his assignment, he must first uncover the dark secrets behind the Fraternity to understand why he was selected and how he figures in its plans.
The main attraction of "Wanted" is the amazing use of CGI special effects, from glass panes shattering as bodies fly through them to bullets redirecting their trajectory in mid-propulsion. Jolie manages to look as comfortable in action flicks as in serious dramas like the recent "Changeling." She is quite the action babe and easy on the eye. McAvoy, who showed his acting chops in "The Last King of Scotland" and "Atonement" seems an odd fit for "Wanted." He looks as if he's doing this one to pay for the new swimming pool. He's fine in the early scenes as a drone-like worker lost in a huge company, but his transformation into this almost-indestructible super assassin is harder to accept. Bonus extras on this two-disc DVD include an extended scene; behind-the-scenes featurettes on the film's stunts, visual effects, and origins in the graphic novel; and a making-of documentary.

A very entertaining action flick. The best eye candy for 2008.
I don't watch enough action flicks to compare this to as far as 'depth' is concerned (and I find people looking for 'depth' in action movies about as silly/clueless as these movies are accused of being). But as I understand it, Wanted is based on a comic book (so judge the movie accordingly, please, instead of out of context). Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, and James McAvoy and the rest truly impressed in their respective roles. And Ms. Jolie (or Mrs. Pitt) burnt a hole on the screen with her physicality (clearly she's no damsel-in-distress) and her deep brooding enigmatic charm. Her best action role to date: as Fox she could kick Ms. Lara Croft's sorry 4$$ without breaking a sweat. I saw it twice on the big screen and intend to get the DVD (saying quite a lot since I'm not really an action movie fan).

Bending and weaving
James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman are at the top of their game in this movie about a secret society of assassins that need to enlist the one (unlikely) person who can help them to achieve one of their major goals.


I loved this film
I really did
I sat up and said "WHOA!"
It's sort of like The Matrix
And fulfills its quid pro quo

I LOVED this film
I did! I did!
And everything it brings
It's all about an underdog
Destined for better things

Have I said
I loved this film?
But you too may enjoy
The making of a hero
Out of wimpy McAvoy

I loved this film
It's awesome
(Though the plot's a little holey)
Forget the flaws - just concentrate
On Angelina Jolie

I know I said
I loved this film
By now it's quite the trend
The plot it twists and weaves around
Just like the bullets bend

By now you know
I loved this film
I'll try to keep it brief
You'll really like this one if you
Can suspend disbelief



If you're looking for a fast-moving action movie with A-List stars, car chases, gravity-defying stunts plus a touch of humor, and are willing to suspend disbelief in exchange for entertainment, then this is the movie for you.

Rated: 4.5 stars (It ain't perfect, but it's fun anyway)



Amanda Richards, July 15, 2008