Wanted (2008) - 7/10

This isn't my first rewatch of Wanted, but it is the first in awhile. It is interesting because now this movie feels like a time capsule of 2000s action movies. High energy, aggressive visuals, experimental VFX, ludicrous storytelling, and Angeline Jolie; this movie just hits all the wickets. That's not a bad thing either. This was just a much more particular era than I remembered it to be. Lets jump in. 

1. Acting

There is no illusion for anyone involved in this movie. This is not serious theater, this is entertainment.  So while this may not be anyone's Oscar reel, the effort is still there. The particular stand outs go to the leads in this case.

James McAvoy is pulling the most weight here. Starting as an anxious and depressed officer worker, he spends the plot changing into a more confident and self assured person. His voiceovers, though not my favorite tool, are humorous and serve the plot. 

Angeline Jolie is in the film. She is a talented actress but is mostly here for the paycheck. Her role is really to just be there and look cool. Where she perhaps has the most effect is her physicality. Unless she has a really good stunt double, a lot of on screen stuff seemed to come directly from her. 

And then of course we have Morgan Freeman. Much like Jolie, he is just here to be cool as shit and deliver exposition with that iconic voice.

2. Cinematography

A lot of the style of this movie has the VFX department to thank. However, in order to pull of stylish VFX you have to have planned out all your shots and framing in very particular ways that play to their strengths. As such, the cohesion seems to have worked out well for this film. The shots are also very imaginative and kinetic which matches the overall tone of the movie well.

3. Production/Costume Design

The world of secret assassins is actually pretty cool. Instead of leaning into the superhero aesthetic of the graphic novel, the production team seems to have wanted a more grounded approach to the look of the characters which I think was a good call. 

Also the headquarters was well designed and unique. A large chunk of the movie takes place within that building though and some of the set pieces outside of that suffered a bit. 

4. Writing

I think what helps keeps this film out of the 'stupid' category is the fact the it has decent writing. The film is clearly trying to tap into the cynical post-modernism of the 2000s as well as the theme of arrested development/societal disenchantment. The hero in this case only grows by realizing he is special and can do things others cant. He basically completely leaves 'normal life' in favor of a brotherhood of secret assassins that get their targets from reading towels. I said this was good writing didn't I? 

Anyway, probably the real strength of the film twofold: first it has original world building. The micro-society and lore surrounding it is fun to learn about and the hero's exploration of his new skillset is entertaining, despite being objectively ridiculous.

Secondly, the film has a pretty good twist at the end of its 2nd act. The hero learning the truth about his father basically turns the entire first half of the movie on its head and propels us into a pretty satisfying conclusion.

5. Sound Design

The sound effects for the film are pretty cool. The highly imaginative nature of some of the action elements required the design team to get creative and I think it all worked well within the context of the movie.  

I also found it interesting to learn that the composer for the film was none other than Danny Elfman. However, gone are his sweeping orchestral scores from films like Burton's Batman films or Raimi's Spider-man. Instead we get a trimmed down and heavily guitar based OST that leans into the fast-paced and aggressive tone of the film.

6. Editing

This section and the VFX section are highly related. One of the main reasons this film manages to stay on the right side of fun/stupid is by injecting a heavy dose of style into its visual language. Slow-mo is used frequently throughout the film to highlight both comedic and cool moments. Visual flairs and audible heart beating helps sell some of the more absurd  'powers' utilized by the assassins. And the use of clever edits like montage sequence and smash cuts keep things moving at a breakneck pace.

7. Visual Effects

There was supposedly north of 800 VFX shots in this film. For context that would put it in the same ballpark as Interstellar. I think its more impressive considering that this was a highly experimental time for VFX. The tools and computing power for CGI was finally catching up to our imaginations in photo-real ways. The Matrix helped pave the way for all the post Y2K films to try everything and anything to help bring new and exciting visual verve to the big screen. In the case of this film, their efforts seemed to really pay off. The team really seemed to enjoy playing around with all the 'powers' of the film and, whether intentional or not, seemed to by trying to pay reverence and elevate the bullet time effects that The Matrix pioneered.

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation

The film and the graphic novel seem to have strayed away from each other in some radical ways. This film is more of a 'inspired by' than an actual adaptation of the novel. Nevertheless, the writer for the graphic novel Mark Millar was largely onboard with all the changes which is a somewhat rare stamp of approval for things like this. 

Having learned a bit about the graphic novel, I think this version works better for the film and fits better with the landscape of movies/audiences at that time.

9. Stunt Coordination

A decent amount of the stunt work for the film leans heavily into the CGI. Where a stunt coordinator can really help out on a movie like this is to be heavily involved in the pre-vis stage of production. Even if stuntpeople end up getting replaced they can help devise the storyboard and influence the edit. 

Outside of the CGI, there's some decent fights and falls along the way for this movie, but mostly plays second fiddle to the more stylish CGI infused action shots. 

10. Direction

Timur Bekmambetov and team created a fairly unique action film here that comes at you fast and hard. Its imaginative and all of its elements seem to play into each other. The end product is even more impressive considering this was the Russian born director's first feature film in America.

Legacy/Final Thoughts

Wanted is in some ways the an answer to the question 'can being cool overcome being stupid?'. The plot and powers of the film are absurd and the general premise of an office worker nobody becoming one of the greatest secret assassins is objectively a dumb idea. However, it still works. This film is fun, imaginative and full of adrenaline. Its popcorn fare for sure, but like I've said before, sometimes it is nice to shut your brain off and just watch something entertaining.