Wanted
By Marshall Fine
Rating:
Who’s in it: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman
What’s it about: A sad-sack office worker (McAvoy) is recruited into a secret band of assassins to avenge his father’s death.
Wow factor: The hits start early and just keep coming in this slam-bang action film. Director Timur Bekmambetov keeps raising the ante with each audacious sequence – whether it’s an adrenalized, outrageous car chase or that dazzling “curve the bullet” effect you’ve seen in commercials. He uses it several times, but it never gets old. The story is familiar – a nobody plucked from obscurity who discovers untapped inner abilities and becomes more powerful than his mentors – and blood flows freely, as well as spattering and spurting. It’s violent and even sadistic, with a plot that goes exactly where you think it will after some early surprises. Don’t think about it too much; just sit back and enjoy a thrill-ride that rarely quits.
Jolie doesn’t have to say much to make an impression as a butt-kicking assassin; her looks are worth a thousand words. McAvoy tickles with his transformation from dweeb to deadly killer, while Freeman is mostly called upon to look wise and forbidding. Nobody does it better.
Long story short: This movie jolts you with wild action.
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