Wanted

2008 Action/Adventure

Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov helms his first English-language feature film with this big-screen adaptation of Mark Millar's action-packed graphic novel. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a cube-dwelling hypochondriac whose uneventful life has become a mundane blur of terminal boredom. Repeatedly humiliated by his boss and constantly cuckolded by his cheating girlfriend, weakling Wes seems to be living right down to everyone's expectations that he would never amount to anything in life. However, upon discovering that the father he never knew has been brutally murdered, the spineless, clock-punching pushover is recruited into a secret society of assassins known as the Fraternity. During the course of his training, the man who was once an office-bound wimp develops lightning-fast reflexes and superhuman dexterity courtesy of his skilled mentor Fox (Angelina Jolie). Upon completing his training, Wes is assigned the task of dealing out death to the mythological Fates, who possess the ability to alter the lifelines of mortal men. It isn't long before the nebbish nerd-turned-agile assassin is erasing the bad guys with surprising efficiency, yet as Wes begins to carry the mantle passed down to him by his father, he gradually begins to suspect that his wise tutors are not the crime-fighting enforcers they present themselves to be. Now, with everything he ever wanted in life finally within his grasp, Wes is about to find out that the only thing more difficult than ending the lives of others is summoning the courage to take control of his own. more..

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Starring: James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman,Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann

Reviews

  • This over-the-top, ultraviolent, hyperkinetic action thriller pretty much has it all.

    Michael Rechtshaffen - The Hollywood Reporter

    11 May 2013

  • The way to enjoy this film is to put your logic on hold, along with any higher sensitivities that might be vulnerable and immerse yourself as if in a video game.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    11 May 2013

  • Best of all, there's a lot of Jolie, barrels blazing. The star's fearlessly sexy hauteur is unique in the biz today. And when she works it in Wanted, she kills, bullets optional.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    11 May 2013

  • Brutal, sexy, built to thrill and minus a scintilla of redeeming social value, the movie -- based on a series of comic books by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones -- explodes like summer fireworks.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    11 May 2013

  • Wanted is like a 12-armed heavy-metal drummer after a case of Red Bull, flailing and thundering through two hours of impossible action.

    Kyle Smith - New York Post

    11 May 2013

Awards

  • Best Achievement in Sound Editing

    Academy Awards (2009)

     
  • Best Fantasy Film

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2009)

     
  • Best Actor

    BET Awards (2009)

     
  • Danny Elfman

    BMI Film & TV Awards (2009)

  • Best Action Movie

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2009)