Wanted

He's the man alright. Wanted is loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name by Mark Millar. It's directed by Timur Bekmambetov and stars James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, Terence Stamp and Konstantin Khabensky. The storyline follows Wesley Gibson (McAvoy), a frustrated and downtrodden office worker who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin when he is saved by Fox (Jolie) from being assassinated himself in a supermarket. Initially he is baffled and out of his depth, but upon meeting the secret "Fraternity" headed by Sloan (Freeman), Gibson starts to undergo training to fulfil his destiny as a "Fraternity" hit-man. One of the better things about popcorn action movies is when there is a geek coming good and kicking ass. Be it super-heroes or average Joe's finding something extra, having the rise of the meek get tough at its core is normally a winner. So it is with Wanted, the US directorial debut of Night/Day Watch helmer, Timur Bekmambetov. It's not so much that McAvoy's anxiety riddled office worker gets to play guns, sports cars and hang with a lithe Angelina Jolie - it's that he, courtesy of a good source, gets to not care about the killing. The film may not be as dark as the source material, but the essence of it is there with corruption and violence at the core. The story, as bonkers as it is, is simplified into one that features ancient weavers receiving messages depicting targets to be wiped from the planet for the greater good of humanity. Enter the "Fraternity" in modern times, which in the name of good, goes out slotting said targets. Oh but it's not just a case of line someone up in a telescope and pull the trigger, this is more fun than that. For action movies in this decade, Wanted has few peers. From the intense and brutal training regime that Gibson undertakes, to the number of explosive and inventive sequences that flit in and out of the piece, it delivers pulse raising cinema. There's outrageous car pursuits, car jumps with whirls and crash bangs, speeding trains resplendent with stunts, a train crash sequence that's as good as anything in popcorn world, and then there's the bullets. Curving bullets that either smack into each other or do untold damage to the forehead of some unknowing target. That the makers are not aiming for the PG-13 market is an obvious bonus, for it allows them to fully payoff on the fights and blood letting. Even those that come with funny and inventive gimmicks. Bekmambetov is having fun, the nature of the beast is a haven for his fast-cutting and slow-mo dalliances, while the noise that thunders out of the speakers pulls one further into the action. McAvoy steps up to the action plate with great success, at times charming yet pathetic, at others totally scary, he revels in the chance to carry a movie of such adrenalin fuelled excess. Jolie too comes out with much credit, the role of Fox giving her the chance to shine, unlike Lara Croft, as a charismatic action girl. While Freeman does what Freeman does well, be straight and oddly classy. Not since John Woo's action berserker Face-Off 11 years previously has the action genre been this much fun and exciting. The pace may not be perfect, and some scenes will be just too ridiculous for some demanding critics (they of course realise the tongue in cheek/nudge in the ribs that's going on?), but regardless, Wanted has taken the action genre to another level. Lets hope it's not 11 years till we have to wait for the next bar raiser. 9/10