I haven't watch Wanted since it's initial cinema release...although I can't fathom why as it's ultra-violent batshit fun from start to finish. It adapts prolific comic book scribe Mark Millar's tale of an everyday white collar office worker who discovers he has a destiny as an assassin employed by fate itself. It's the usual mythic structure of average guy with father issues who is pre-ordained to get trained up in the ways of killing people in cool ways...to fight evil.
The cast is amazing from the appropriately non-pretty boy looks of McAvoy (struggling with a yank accent, or is it just me?) to the elegant intensity of Jolie (in Tomb Raider action mode) to the devious classiness of Assassin boss, Morgan Freeman.
The real star, of course, is Russian import director Timur Bekmambetov, fresh off of the fantastic Daywatch and Nightwatch. Like Raimi, Jackson, Burton and Nevildine & Taylor...Bekmambetov is one of those rare breed that can think outside of the box; how he edits, where he places the camera...never being afraid to defy physics, reality and common sense in pursuit of a great shot. So gunmen can leap through a 50 storey window to the adjacent rooftop 100 feet away, can flip cars through 360 degrees whilst performing a gruesome hit and (in a truly astonishing sequence) trains can plunge thousands of feet down a near bottomless gorge...only to have the occupants still ready to scrap once more.
On the downside this has a touch of the "Hard Targets" about it. Like John Woo's debut there's a feeling that with a better understanding of the English language, a more sophisticated, less bullshity tone might have emerged (not the nutty Loom of Fate thing...more so the dialogue).
But it's only a minor gripe. Best of all is the "get a life" message that is the spine of the plot. How many of us end up in boring admin jobs when we want to be out there living the dream. Maybe a career in assassination isn't the answer but it sure looks pretty goddamn attractive as presented here.
No comments:
Post a Comment