Wanted Is a Waste of Time

I have a pet peeve when it comes to films. I absolutely HATE when a film introduces elements that are completely incongruent and out of place based on the presented setting. It has a lot to due with the suspension of disbelief, which admittedly is very important when it comes to films, but its not that I cannot suspend disbelief. Rather it is essentially that there are bounds to the suspension of disbelief, and when a story is presented correctly, that suspension is warranted and I can have a great time watching. Other times it is not and when that happens, I shut off to a film.

Take for example The Matrix. Crazy stuff happens in that movie - normal humans leap from building to building, dodge bullets, etc. And it was all completely awesome! I didn't ask any questions. You know why? Because it was quickly established that they were in the matrix and within the confines of the matrix the "rules" (namely those of physics) could be bent and broken. Fine. Its well explained and it makes sense. Great movie!

The same is true for every superhero movie. Going in you understand that it is a superhero movie and normal rules do not apply (although I argue that there rules with superhero films too, just a different set of rules) and that crazy, spectacular, epic stuff is going to happen. Its justified. Superheroes aren't interesting if they don't do those sorts of things. (An exception to this rule would be Spiderman stopping a tram with his feet breaking through railroad ties and not getting ripped apart. He is Spiderman after all, not Superman. That was retarded.) The same is also true for Bond movies. They have a different set of limits because you understand that he is a super spy and the franchise has always carried its own aura of suspended disbelief.

Then there are films like Wanted. In the very first scene of the film, a man leaps out the windows of a tall building, flies across the street, pulls out his guns mid-jump and shoots three armed men on a rooftop, then safely lands in the building. Is he a superhero? No. Is this supposedly the real world? Yes. Does that make any fucking sense at all? No. We have a serious problem. And yes, I have the same issue with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. People literally fly through the air and and it makes no sense. Granted, we're given the setting of Asian mythology which gives some justification which I understand, but I still didn't like it.

Now back up a minute. Some people would point out that essentially the same type of stuff happens in Shoot Em Up (a film I own and enjoy immensely) and also point out that I have no problems with that movie. I would respond by saying that Shoot Em Up quickly establishes itself as an over-the-top dark comedy. Had it taken itself seriously, it would have been a problem for me.

Wanted takes itself very seriously, immediately establishing the existence of an ancient fraternity of assassins who, while possessing no supernatural abilities, can apparently do whatever the hell they want with a gun so long as they put in enough hours at the range. And aside from a guy leaping building, these folks can bend bullets around objects to hit obstructed targets or better yet, hit targets from obscene distances through dozens of obstacles including windows, moving trains, etc. And we are supposed to take this seriously. They are assassins and this is serious business- they are trying to maintain a balance between order and chaos in the world. The real world. The world you and I live in. You know, the world governed by a things called the laws of physics.

Okay, so we have this guy named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) who is a real loser, hates his job and suffers from panic attacks. It turns out that his estranged father was the worlds greatest assassin, and he has been killed. So the fraternity of assassins (aptly named The Fraternity) lead by a guy named Sloan (Morgan Freeman) come looking for him so that they can whisk him away from the boring life he has and train him to be an assassin like his father. Most importantly he is the only guy capable of killing his father's killer, so they say.

Fast forward. So Wesley is introduced to the "Frat" and begins his training under the tutelage of Fox (Angelina Jolie) who is supposed to be the ultra-sexy master assassin who throws glances that say "I'm super cool because I'm an assassin". Apparently she got paid big bucks to stand around looking smug throughout the movie. I'm sorry but Angelina Jolie is annoying to begin with and she really lame in this movie. Anyway, we go through the obligatory training stuff where the guy just isn't getting it until he pushed to his limit and suddenly everything is hunky dory. Oh yeah, and we are also given this whole explanation of the frat's mission and whatnot and this back story of how the "loom of fate" (the assassins were started from weavers?) that contains a secret binary language that spells out those persons who need to be killed. In short, it was not very intricate but apparently served to advance the plot.

Basically, the latter half of the film serves as one long, drawn out climax sequence involving bullets bouncing off bullets (a reference to sword-fighting maybe?), Wesley and Fox surviving an absolutely ridiculous train wreck and eventually Wesley discovering the truth about his father and bringing down the Fraternity. Oh and Fox shoots a bullet in a complete circle at the end.

Obviously I didn't like this film and for reasons I have already spelled out. Had this movie introduced some element justifying the bullet magic (like being superheroes or a la The Matrix), it might have worked. Had this movie not taken itself so seriously (like Shoot Em Up), it probably would have worked. Instead, it just shovels out the craziness because Hollywood isn't stupid. They know that the crowds will eat it up because its packed with action and it has Angelina Jolie standing around looking smug, and teenage boys can't take their eyes off her. It fills seats, but it does nothing to help foster the production of better quality movies.

So call me a hater. Call me jaded. Call me elitist if you must, but I'm calling Wanted garbage. 4/10