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Wanted… my two hours back.
The latest Angelina Jolie action flick has plenty of action, including some killer stunt sequences, but it comes up shooting blanks on pretty much everything else.
The script attempts to appeal directly to twenty-somethings who hate their cubicle office jobs and feel pretty much worthless. In fact, the film makes it a point to remind the audience just how lame they are. In some perverse, psychosomatic way, that strategy might actually work with Gen Y, Z or whatever they are.
The crux of the plot is that loser Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) has nothing going for him. He’s stuck in a dead-end office job with an evil boss, and his best friend is sleeping with his girlfriend. The first 20 minutes of the movie beats this dead horse with all the staging of “Office Space” but none of the intelligence. Then, while Gibson is at the grocery store refilling his anti-anxiety prescription, well-heeled assassin Fox (Jolie) shows up to protect him from another assassin in the cereal aisle. Snap, crackle, pop… fantastical chaos ensues and before he knows it, Gibson finds himself trapped deep in the throws of an epic montage, transforming the geeky paper pusher into a world-class killing machine with super human powers (and a pretty nifty body repairing bathtub). If you’re still with me, then you might care that there are some plot twists that do make this film look like “The Sixth Sense” when compared to some of its contemporary counterparts, say… “Snakes on a Plane.”
The ubiquitous Morgan Freeman plays the sage-like, older wise man (Sloan) running an operation that seemingly defies understanding. It’s good to see he’s really stepping out of his comfort zone. I usually hold his career in high esteem, but I can’t help but wonder exactly what bet Freeman lost on the set of “Evan Almightty” to end up on the “Wanted” list. It was either that or a round of Monkey Muzzle; a tough decision indeed. You live, you learn.
It’s not a stretch to say that only two things even pretend to hold up this film. The first is Angelina Jolie’s deadly performance. She makes a great cold, blooded killer (and porridge soup, I hear). The second is some really cool action sequences that have never been attempted before because they break even the laws of Hollywood Physics.
If you’re not a huge believer in Physics, then the only question remaining is where you stand on Economics. If you’re willing to trade $8 for the opportunity to be insulted and visually stimulated by new and innovative ways to kill people on-screen, then you’re on the “Wanted” list.
8/5/2008 1:35 PM
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