Review of:  Wanted

Overall Rating: 10 A+

Wanted was absolutely amazing!  I highly recommend watching it multiple times.  They consistently avoided taking a cheep shot, in plot twists, fight scenes, even at the end of the movie when they could have snuck in a cheep shot they didn't.  The movie was so well done that I left the theater not wanting for anything because I was so satisfied.  Wanted can now join the ranks of Iron Man as this years second outstanding movie.

The Plot / Story: Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is offered the opportunity to seek revenge in the murder of his father, who was an assassin. Gibson is invited by his father’s partner, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), to follow in his father’s footsteps.  Sloan’s second-in-command (Angelina Jolie) mentors Gibson training him in the arts and secrets of the fraternity.

Likes

1. An action movie that maintained an immaculate reality throughout the movie.  It had blood and death but was done in an artful manner that neither repulsed the audience away from the screen nor did it try to pull you in.

2. The premise is well delivered and intriguing.  There were many fascinating concepts put forth like: how they select the targets to be assassinated, the source of their powers, and trusting ones instincts.

3. Has a nice sense of play about it's self.  This was nice for the serious nature of the film allowing a levity that didn't cross over into silliness.

4. The overall movie experience is a fun, exciting ride that delivered tight action at a captivating pace.

5. although it is a movie about assassins it still maintained a sense of justice and morality that was not preachy.  The wicked were punished.  Everyone had a solid believable motivation striving to do the right thing while trying to discern right from wrong.

6. The soundtrack was well executed, did not overpower the movie, and enhanced the experience of the scene.  I really enjoyed the use of Trent Reznor's song

   

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7. The plot twists were well executed.

8. The acting was well delivered.

9. Wanted is the first time since the matrix that had a consistently artful use of the slow motion camera that made sense within the context of what was going on within the story and helped to enhance the action.

Dislikes / Concerns

1. The set up took a while:  This is a concern that some may find problematic with the film but I still enjoyed.  They established the lead, the setting, made me really care about his situation and just when I was about to think this is taking a while the story and action exploded.

2. The movie had a training montage.  This may bother some who are watching it but I doubt many will even realize it is in there.  I found even the training montage was entertaining, not hackneyed, made sense and I did not even realize that I watched a training montage until a day latter.

3. Main character narrates the film:  some may take issue with it because it allows the main character to directly address the audience as an audience watching a film rather then creating a sense of being in the moment.  I felt that they pulled the narration moments off brilliantly giving us a look into the psychology behind the main characters motivations with out breaching the immaculate reality of the moment.

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