Universal Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment presents “Wanted,” a high suspense, action drama that combines humor and pure adrenaline that keeps the audience entertained from start to finish.
“Wanted” follows 25-year-old Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), who suffers from uncontrollable anxiety attacks, on a journey from a dissatisfied accountant in a cubicle to the ultimate assassin.
Gibson is unhappy with his life because he has a boss who constantly nags him and a girlfriend who is cheating on him with Barry (Chris Pratt), his co-worker and supposed best friend.
The Fraternity of Assassins are a centuries-old league of trained assassins who carry out fate’s death orders. Fellow assassins include Fox (Angelina Jolie) and ringleader Sloan (Morgan Freeman). The two try to recruit Gibson after his estranged father, the greatest assassin in the Fraternity, is killed.
Gibson is terrified by the whole situation and asks Fox to leave him alone. One day at work he has had enough of his crappy life and he goes off on his boss and takes a computer keyboard to Barry’s head and walks out. He is met outside by Fox and his wild ride begins.
Fox and Sloan have successfully convinced Gibson to follow in his father’s footsteps and avenge his death by killing Cross (Thomas Kretschmann), his father’s killer.
“Wanted” keeps you on the edge of your seat with its mind-blowing car chases involving Fox, Gibson and a red hot Corvette. In an early scene, Cross takes Fox and Gibson on a high-speed car chase. Fox is driving and shooting at Cross while Gibson holds on for dear life. Fox orders him to take the wheel as she straddles the car in an attempt to overtake Cross.
Unbelievable gun shooting scenes where the assassins are able to curve bullets around corners to reach their targets leaves the audience in awe. Gibson’s ultimate test to see if he is ready to fight involves a gun, a bullet and a very sexy Fox. Gibson must curve the bullet, avoid shooting Fox and hit his target. Success! The audience in the theater cheers as they realize that Gibson is no longer the under dog.
“Kill one, save a thousand” is one of the main focuses of the movie. This motto is used to justify killing the targets on the hit list. In the movie the “Loom of Fate” weaves a fabric pattern that reveals secret codes that need to be deciphered. These codes translate into the names of the next victims. According to Sloan, a flaw in the fabric signals a flaw in the world and that flaw needs to be removed so that the world can carry on in a balanced way.
Throughout the movie Gibson survives numerous beatings by fellow assassins and evolves into a badass assassin himself. He begins to kill his targets one by one until he is finally given the order to kill Cross.
The movie takes an unsuspected turn when the plot reveals premeditated acts of betrayal, dishonesty and corrupt behavior by Sloan and other Fraternity members.
The acting by all of the characters is believable and allows the audience to really dive into the plot and become emotionally invested in the characters. “Wanted” director Timur Bekmambetov successfully executes a thrilling film that will leave the audience wanting more.
The movie ends with an intriguing question that leaves the audience pondering the answer.
Two thumbs up for “Wanted.” This movie will satisfy any moviegoer who is in the mood for a bone-chilling Friday night.
“Wanted” comes out in theaters on June 27.
