Published: July 17, 2008 05:37 pm            

At the movies...

Wanted



No American summer would be complete without a few flame-throwing action flicks in a cool auditorium. As of late these have been coming mostly from the superhero world (and it appears they will do so indefinitely), and Wanted doesn’t exactly break the trend, but it sure does put a different spin on the whole supernatural-ability-as-a-source-of-income-for-big-studios racket.

The primary reason I wanted to see this film (outside Angelina Jolie’s utter hotness) was to further observe what I consider to be the most talent-laden potential superstar in showbiz at work. Of course I’m talking about James McAvoy. This film was heralded as his break into popular consciousness. Aided by dramatic successes such as Atonement and The Last King of Scotland, McAvoy seemed poised to take Hollywood by storm in a blockbuster action movie which could only be topped by the likes of The Dark Knight in the action category. And while I wouldn’t call this Schwarzeneggerian success, it certainly wasn’t a flop either.

To put it simply, the film does quite a few things right. It takes us into a world of mysti-cal assassin’s dueling for and against fate, and uses a character which no more belongs in this world than a librarian. The movie flashes and whizzes and bangs; it even manages to put together a pretty unique story. What it doesn’t do, unfortunately, is dig deep enough into the characters. Cardboard cutouts begin to emerge after half the movie has passed with very little but a lot of screaming McAvoy and a lot of sexy strutting Jolie to show for it. It’s hard to be emotionally involved in situations where the true implications are only understandable after the fact.

The movie opts for style over story much of the time, and while the lead actors are of such quality that more can be done with less downtime, I would have considered a slower pace myself. But it’s been awhile since anyone from Universal has offered me a directing job, so for those of you in the studio’s target audience, be prepared for a barrage of light, color, sound and sex.

This is an understandable career move for McAvoy. You only get so many shots to play the lead in your very own blockbuster (and hang out all day with Brad Pitt’s girlfriend). He brings something to the film that would have been missing without him. Not his best performance to date, I don’t think, but when you can stand toe to toe with Morgan “Shawshank” Freeman and not have to hang your head at the premier, you’re doing something right.

So when a late show for the grownups starts to sound like a good idea, keep this pedal-pumping movie in mind.



Rating: R

Runtime: 110 minutes

My Rating: 6.5/10

Recommended? A fun watch indeed, but not an overwhelming masterpiece.

        

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