Wanted

Jun 27 2008 The Journal

(1hr 54mins) Starring: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman. Director: Timur Bekmambetov

WANTED, a slam-bang action thriller based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and JG Jones, is about a brotherhood of gun-toting weavers who divine the future from imperfections in fabric.

If the premise of Timur Bekmambetov’s English-language debut doesn’t make you chuckle in disbelief, his high-octane film certainly will, blending a potent cocktail of gratuitous violence, jaw-dropping action and adult humour.

The Kazakhstan director’s distinctive, hyperkinetic visual style, which energised Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch, runs rampant here. Lowly accountant Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) has no money and a girlfriend who is sleeping with his best friend.

During a visit to the pharmacy to collect his anti-anxiety medication, Wesley meets sexy stranger Fox (Angelina Jolie), who recruits him into The Fraternity – a secret society of assassins descended from weavers, under the leadership of the enigmatic Sloan (Morgan Freeman).

Sloan entrusts Fox with honing the newcomer’s fighting skills and she introduces Wesley to her associates – Gunsmith, The Repairman, The Butcher, and The Exterminator.

Together, they transform the shy office worker into a sleek killing machine, but as Wesley embraces his bloodthirsty destiny, he realises his mentors might not be as noble as they seem.

Wanted doesn’t take itself seriously and nor should we, enjoying this orgy of gravity-defying acrobatics as escapist fantasy writ large.