Wanted is Bekmambetov's first crack at applying the stylised action formula that found him success to an English speaking market and the end result is a reasonable, if far from perfect attempt.

Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is trapped in a dead-end job he hates, knowing that his best friend is sleeping with his nagging girlfriend, as he desperately tries to escape the banality of his life.

When the mysterious Fox (Angelina Jolie) approaches him to say he is the latest in a line of ancient assassins called The Fraternity, Wesley is plunged into a world of super-human abilities where his life finally has a meaning and purpose.

Based on the comic book series of the same name written by Mark Millar, Wanted has all the groundings of a solid, action packed, summer blockbuster.

And with such a visionary new director at the helm the film falls just short of being this summer's runaway success.

Wanted is not a bad film by any respect, its problem is more that it fails to be as exciting as it feels it should be.

The first half of the film's 110-minute running time is spent covering Wesley's transformation from relative nobody into superhero assassin and draws a scary amount of similarities to The Matrix.

As Wesley is taught how to swerve bullets the actions and dialogue sway perilously close to Neo learning to dodge them - not to mention the ways in which both characters escape a mundane, number crunching, office cubicle life for a new superpower laden reality.

But while The Matrix managed to create a clever, intricate mythology on top of which the action could unfold, Wanted creates a far more simplistic, underdeveloped narrative, leaving the admittedly spectacular action scenes feeling comparatively empty and unengaging.

James McAvoy does outstandingly well as Wesley, proving his worth as a star by whipping out the rug from the other A-list acting talent and stealing the show.

The rest of the cast all perform well throughout but not brilliantly - despite Morgan Freeman exuding acting class as Fraternity leader Sloan and Angelina Jolie showing herself as a valid contributor for an entirely different set of reasons.

The film makes an ample attempt at not taking itself too seriously, and at numerous points shines with a fair share of genuinely funny moments.
But it is hard to excuse the film as being entirely tongue in cheek when looking at its frail, predictable and at times untidy storyline.

Wanted is an entertaining slice of classically mindless action nonsense, and although it is bound not to disappoint the majority of cinema-goers, it still feels like it could easily have been much more.

3/5

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