"What the fuck have you done lately?": Wanted, a Mini-Review
Just got back from seeing Wanted with the roomie. Overall, a good showing, I thought, and it pretty much gives you exactly what it advertised: lots and lots of eyecandy, in the form of cinematography and crazyass action sequences. This is really what the DQ litmus test for good movie-going is, particularly when popcorn-munching summer fun flicks are concerned:
Was I entertained? Hellz yes. Do I not regret shelling out seven bucks for a ticket? Yes. Is this a fucking great movie? Well...sort of.
The short order of my conclusion, is really this: remember Shoot 'Em Up? This is the exact same thing...an hour and a half jam-packed with bullets flying at impossible angles and velocity as the bodies drop, the blood flies, the laws of physics, mechanics and what the human body can take go flying out the window, the characters say "fuck" every fifth or third word, and everything is colored in extreme shades of badass and pretty kickin' camera angles. Only, Shoot 'Em Up did it a lot better.
More specfically, I think the story could have flowed a lot better. The beginning showed a lot of promise but then took way too long, the climax "reveal" was incredibly underwhelming, and most of the really badass stuff they've already given away in the trailer. And if you really think about it, it all boils down to the story they've done a thousand times before, the epic quest of a boy becoming a man and a man becoming a warrior and a warrior becoming a legend. And when you choose to revisit something like that...you need to try and feel the "epic". And I wasn't really feelin' it.
In the end, I guess I was most irked by the message of "fate" as presented by the storyline. As in, we are now back to the main reason I was so pissed at the Terminator trilogy: at the end of the day, I am perfectly fine whether you chose to go with "destiny is set in stone" or the counterpoint "you make your own destiny". No, really, I'm good. But for fuck's sake, PICK ONE AND STICK TO IT. Waffling on the issue will only serve to tick me off. And while I guess the movie for the most part stuck to its chosen side of the argument the whole way through, it was just vague enough on the issue that I was kind of confused and off-put by it.
And to get particularly specific, I saw no point at all in Fox deciding to kill herself. No point at all. Yeah, I know it sticks to the guns of fate and destiny and all, but I feel like the set her up to be too much of a badass to suddenly switch horses on us in the eleventh hour and basically turn her the story of Girl as the Weapon; the tragic story of the damaged woman who was dead to begin with and just staying in it not to win it but for the sake of the fight until she knew she was done. Not that I necessary wanted her and Wesley to ride off into the sunset, either. I just think they could have done better by her character than that.
On the note of much less sour grapes though, I mean, there are a lot of cars, guns, and a couple decent explosions. And James McAvoy. And Angeline Jolie being Angelina fucking Jolie (okay, so I kind of would've gone to see this movie for her alone, so maybe bear that in mind).
Oh, and not to mention? In how many movies do you get to see Morgan Freeman be the wise mentor AND the evil mastermind? At the same time? In a whole new level of unprecedented awesome?? Not many, that's for damn sure.
My final conclusion: this movie kept me happy for the two hours-ish I was watching it, but the high wore off too fast. Overall I give it about a B-/C+...in other words, if you were planning on seeing it anyway, I say go right ahead.
But if you weren't sure to begin with? You might wanna wait for the DVD.
Was I entertained? Hellz yes. Do I not regret shelling out seven bucks for a ticket? Yes. Is this a fucking great movie? Well...sort of.
The short order of my conclusion, is really this: remember Shoot 'Em Up? This is the exact same thing...an hour and a half jam-packed with bullets flying at impossible angles and velocity as the bodies drop, the blood flies, the laws of physics, mechanics and what the human body can take go flying out the window, the characters say "fuck" every fifth or third word, and everything is colored in extreme shades of badass and pretty kickin' camera angles. Only, Shoot 'Em Up did it a lot better.
More specfically, I think the story could have flowed a lot better. The beginning showed a lot of promise but then took way too long, the climax "reveal" was incredibly underwhelming, and most of the really badass stuff they've already given away in the trailer. And if you really think about it, it all boils down to the story they've done a thousand times before, the epic quest of a boy becoming a man and a man becoming a warrior and a warrior becoming a legend. And when you choose to revisit something like that...you need to try and feel the "epic". And I wasn't really feelin' it.
In the end, I guess I was most irked by the message of "fate" as presented by the storyline. As in, we are now back to the main reason I was so pissed at the Terminator trilogy: at the end of the day, I am perfectly fine whether you chose to go with "destiny is set in stone" or the counterpoint "you make your own destiny". No, really, I'm good. But for fuck's sake, PICK ONE AND STICK TO IT. Waffling on the issue will only serve to tick me off. And while I guess the movie for the most part stuck to its chosen side of the argument the whole way through, it was just vague enough on the issue that I was kind of confused and off-put by it.
And to get particularly specific, I saw no point at all in Fox deciding to kill herself. No point at all. Yeah, I know it sticks to the guns of fate and destiny and all, but I feel like the set her up to be too much of a badass to suddenly switch horses on us in the eleventh hour and basically turn her the story of Girl as the Weapon; the tragic story of the damaged woman who was dead to begin with and just staying in it not to win it but for the sake of the fight until she knew she was done. Not that I necessary wanted her and Wesley to ride off into the sunset, either. I just think they could have done better by her character than that.
On the note of much less sour grapes though, I mean, there are a lot of cars, guns, and a couple decent explosions. And James McAvoy. And Angeline Jolie being Angelina fucking Jolie (okay, so I kind of would've gone to see this movie for her alone, so maybe bear that in mind).
Oh, and not to mention? In how many movies do you get to see Morgan Freeman be the wise mentor AND the evil mastermind? At the same time? In a whole new level of unprecedented awesome?? Not many, that's for damn sure.
My final conclusion: this movie kept me happy for the two hours-ish I was watching it, but the high wore off too fast. Overall I give it about a B-/C+...in other words, if you were planning on seeing it anyway, I say go right ahead.
But if you weren't sure to begin with? You might wanna wait for the DVD.