Title: Wanted; Cast: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Thomas Ketschmann. Director: Timur Bekmambetov; Writer: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan; Distributor: Universal Pictures; Location: USA; Running time: 110 minutes.
Technical Assessment: 4
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA rating: R 14 (For viewers aged 14 up)
In Wanted, the “Fraternity” is a thousand-year old secret society of assassins whose mission is to rid the world of bad guys. “Kill one, save a thousand” seems to be their motto. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a nondescript account manager in some New York office ruled by an obese woman with a razor tongue and indefatigable vocal chords. Besides being bullied by this slob of a boss, Wesley is also hen-pecked by his girlfriend who incessantly complains of the night trains chug-chugging by their cheap apartment. As if two ranting women were not enough, the nerdy Wesley also discovers that his best friend and office mate is also seeing his girlfriend on the side. Too naïve and cowardly to stand up for himself, Wesley seems resigned to live a life that leads nowhere. Until Fox (Angelina Jolie) enters the scene—but not to bring sunshine and flowers to Wesley’s dead-end existence. She takes him to Sloane (Morgan Freeman), the head of the Fraternity, who reveals to Wesley that he has the assassin in his genes, being the son of one of their murdered members. It is to avenge the death of his father then that Wesley is to be recruited, motivated and trained.
The plot of Wanted, if a trifle too bloody, vengeful and violent, is simple enough to follow, and seen against the backdrop of comic book fiction may even come across as credible. It’s not hard for everyman to identify with the superbly acted McAvoy character who turns from weakling to super assassin. Its credibility is further established by having Morgan Freeman in the cast—he who is gifted with a hypnotic growl and an aura of omniscience can make poison sound like milk and honey until you thirst for it. And nobody but nobody could have played Fox more believably than Jolie—wielding with elan fantabulous guns half her weight. Her legendary sex appeal needs no dominatrix costumes—it oozes through even a no-frills white mini dress that would have looked like a nanny’s apron on a less stylish actress. Her panache and her expressive face also project her as the perfect “killer of few words.” Kazakhstan-born director Timur Bekmambetov ably pulls off this thriller and succeeds in suspending the viewer’s disbelief with the use of over-the-top stunts and killer-ware: surfing atop speeding trains, guns and bullets with implausible trajectories, supercars that make James Bond’s look like a Matchbox collection.
There’s no stopping them now—action movies that rival computer games in adrenaline stimulation and ingenuity of inventions. It’s possible that even very young children who can wield the (computer) mouse will enjoy the technical aspects of Wanted. Why, even adult viewers would, as long as it’s clear to them that this movie defies the laws of physics and dabbles in gray areas of morality and mortality. Young viewers may not be able to draw the line between fact and fiction, or may be lost in seeing the boundary blurred between right and wrong. And even if there are willing parents who can guide them through this violent and deception-ridden piece of art, why titillate their imagination thus when there is so much still to learn in school and at home about real physics and real justice? For down-to-earth education-cum-entertainment that broadens their horizons, there’s Nat Geo Junior, Animal Planet or Discovery Channel. To help them with their school work, there’s Knowledge Channel. For good old Sunday afternoon family entertainment, put on The Sound of Music DVD, please.
