Wanted

Wanted would be an easy film to knock – visually it borrows heavily from The Matrix amongst others, the plot makes about as much sense as Boris Johnson on a bad day (there’s some nonsense about a guild of assassins who are guided to their targets by the “loom of fate”), James McAvoy’s American accent is rather dodgy and Angelina Jolie plays the same part she played in Mr and Mrs Smith and seems to be only half-trying. Oh, and the CGi in the train sequence is rather less than convincing.

All of which is true, but rather misses the fun of it all. Director Timur Bekmambetov does borrow from The Matrix’s bullet-time, but there is just as much of his own Russian films, Nightwatch and Daywatch in the mix and he creates some genuinely impressive sequences – watch out especially for the opening rooftop shootout and the car chase.

The plot may be rather silly, but the script is lively and fun and keeps things moving on the whole at a healthy pace (although the training section is a wee-bit overlong) which prevents things getting bogged down in unnecessary explanations.

McAvoy, accent-aside, provides a charismatic lead who keeps you watching. Jolie, even at less than fully trying is far more watchable than a lot of actresses doing their best. And the rest of a talented cast do well, although Terence Stamp feels a bit out of place. It’s also refreshing to see Morgan Freeman in a less than saintly role for a change – he even gets to swear!

Overall – 3.5/5. It’s not exactly ground-breaking or especially deep, but there are some great sequences and good performances that make Wanted one of the best and most fun actioners of the summer so far.