-
Trust Weighted
Very Good
-
120Trust Points
Wick's Review
Summary - Great 4.0
Action porn, a near constant tickle, and charismatic movie star performances make Wanted a new benchmark in bravura movie making. Casually amoral, this nihilistic flik would make Nietzsche blush. In short, Wanted is one hell of a guilty pleasure.
Acting - Great 4.0
Angelina Jolie’s entrance comes well into the movie. Suddenly her magnificent head fills the screen next to the decidedly pedestrian-looking James McAvoy. Instantly, the movie’s glamour and cool quotients spike upward. The woman deserves her $20 million paydays. She’s the most desirable human on the planet and an action hero of the first rank, a femme fatale for the ages.
McAvoy ably – and comically – plays a schmo who becomes a superior being, an übermensch who is more than a little tempted to play god.
Morgan Freeman, who hasn’t had a role this meaty in a long time, lends gravitas to the proceedings. Add in the great Terrence Stamp, and this is a first rate cast.
Male Stars - Really Great 4.5
Female Stars - Perfect 5.0
Angelina the Great.Female Costars - Great 4.0
Male Costars - Great 4.0
Film - Great 4.0
The narrative exists mostly to link the extremely over-the-top chases and gun battles, and to provide comic relief. Hence action porn.
This mostly works, especially when McAvoy’s comic transition is underway. Over time it drags a bit, as the willing suspension of disbelief becomes a burden to maintain.
Direction - Really Great 4.5
*Wanted* makes Timur Bekmambetov an A-list director. The guy is an action wizard.Dialogue - Very Good 3.5
The humor outweighs the hokiness, especially because the dialogue rarely outstays its welcome before the next action sequence hits. The office scenes are like a crazed "Office Space":http://www.viewguide.com/movie_reviews/2059-office-space, or Dilbert on steroids, and are bound to tickle anyone who ever sat in a cube. On a serious note, why are the Fraternity of assassins weavers? I'm thinking because masons have been done to death.Music - Good 3.0
Visuals - Perfect 5.0
A complete rush. Just when you thought you've seen it all - from Indy outrunning the boulder to Neo sidestepping a bullet - along comes *Wanted* to reset the benchmark of cinematic action.Edge - Sordid 2.8
Lots of the ultra, and a couple glimpses of the slap and tickle.
Sex Erotic 2.6
Violence Brutal 3.1
Rudeness Profane 2.6
Reality - Supernatural 3.3
I counted 60 stuntmen, a dozen special effects techs, and 100 visual fx techs. That kind of FX horsepower buys you high multiples on all three reality scales.
Circumstantial - Supernatural 4.0
Biological - Surreal 3.0
Physical - Surreal 3.0
1 Comment
-
Wick Jul 1, 2008 6:19AM
Terrific review Spaceghost! I was just polishing up my draft when yours came through. Now I think I need to polish mine a little more, so look for it tomorrow.