Your Fate is Woven

2008 was an interesting time for comic book movies. The year saw two of the most influential releases ever in Iron Man (which was the start of the Marvel Cinematic UniverseWhen it first began in 2008 with a little film called Iron Man no one suspected the empire that would follow. Superhero movies in the past, especially those not featuring either Batman or Superman, were usually terrible. And yet, Iron Man would lead to a long series of successful films, launching the most successful cinema brand in history: the Marvel Cinematic Universe.) and The Dark Knight (the best of the Christopher Nolan BatmanOne of the longest running, consistently in-print superheroes ever (matched only by Superman and Wonder Woman), Batman has been a force in entertainment for nearly as long as there's been an entertainment industry. It only makes sense, then that he is also the most regularly adapted, and consistently successful, superhero to grace the Silver Screen. films. Between those two films Hollywood saw that there really, truly was money to be made from comic book films. And not just that it could be made but that it could be done with truly faithful, interesting, well made adaptations of comics that treated the source material with respect. You know, instead of changing everything because Hollywood suits thought, “comic books are for kids and no one will take this seriously.”

And then, at the other end of the spectrum you had films like Wanted, which was based on a comic book but had all of its content changed because, well, it was originally about superheroes and, clearly, someone on the production team thought, “no one will take this seriously.” So instead of a hyper-violent film about super-villain assassins we get a hyper-violent movie about people who are genetically different and act as super-assassins… but, you know, for good. Because… reasons?

Look, I don’t want to crap on Wanted. I actually think the film is pretty fun for what it is. Silly, dumb, lightweight, and not really a good movie in the classical sense, but fun all the same. However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that if this film had been in production even a couple of years later it would have been a faithful and true adaptation of the source material, something designed to deconstruct the superhero movie genre that Marvel was building. That film could have been a smash success that probably would be celebrated now as brilliant counter-programming. Instead we have the 2008 film that was amusing enough to $342.5 Mil at the Box Office before largely being forgotten by everyone.

In the film version of Wanted we’re introduced to Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a mid-20s office drone who has regular panic attacks. He’s abused by his boss, Janice (Lorna Scott), hated by his own girlfriend, Cathy (Kristen Hager), and knows that his own best friend, Barry (Chris Pratt), is sleeping with Cathy. His life, in essence, is shit, and it just goes on and on with no escape for him. He’s constantly abused while he dreams of what could be if only he were a different person.

And then along comes Fox (Angelina Jolie), a hot and sexy assassin who protects Wesley from other people wanting to kill him. Fox takes Wesley to the Fraternity, an organization of assassins who all have special talents because, secretly, they’re really a different breed of human. Those panic attacks Wesley had were actually his body trying to get him to focus, to hone his perception, slowing everything down so he could perform at hyperfast speeds. With the right training, Wesley could do that, he could take more damage, survive more action, and even curve bullets. He’s literally better than so many other people… which is good because he’s going to need those skills if he’s going to catch (and kill) the man responsible for killing Wesley’s father…

When people think of Wanted, what they remember above all else is the assassins curving bullets. Aim, move hand, fire, and suddenly the bullets magically curve through the air with the greatest of ease. It’s silly. In fact it’s incredibly stupid, totally implausible, and makes no sense. But the thing is the movie just presents it as matter-of-fact, then shows the assassins curving bullets through the air and, silly as it is, you just accept it. “Oh, this is that kind of movie,” and then you move on, shutting off your brain to enjoy the stupid but fun action around you.

Once you’re able to shut down your brain and bask in the stupidity, though, that’s when Wanted becomes fun. That’s the moment it becomes the movie it needs to be, and stylishly so. Much of that credit should go to Timur Bekmambetov, a Russian director who headed up this film. I’ve actually watched a few of his films, including both Night Watch and Day Watch (which were both about creatures of the night, so of course I watched them) and I find him to be a fun and stylish director. He has a style that’s actually well suited to comic book films, and he can bring a lot of flair to his movies. Wanted benefits from his crazy, stylish eye, creating a bonkers, but handsome, production.

Grounding the film is McAvoy, who was still an up-and-coming actor when this film came out (he was still three years off from X-Men: First Class at the time). McAvoy is able to invest in the craziness around him and, instead of making it seem silly, he gets it to seem like it’s perfectly normal, at least for him. He did the same thing with Charles Xavier in the X-MenLaunched in 1963 and written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-Men featured heroes distinctly different from those featured in the pages of DC Comics. Mutants who didn't ask for their powers (and very often didn't want them), these heroes, who constantly fought against humans who didn't want "muties" around, served as metaphors for oppression and racism. Their powerful stories would form this group into one of the most recognizable superhero teams in comics (and a successful series of movies as well). films, finding a way to ground all the crazy mutant action with his steady performance. He does that with Wanted, letting his character react and adapt and eventually become part of the world perfectly. It’s great.

With that said, the rest of the cast isn’t quite as capable at making the ridiculousness of the film work. While I like Jolie’s Fox, she doesn’t have the same grounding influence on the film. Jolie seems like she knows the film is ridiculous and is just having a great time doing something bonkers. It’s fun to watch, but she also makes you realize you’re watching a movie, not a world. Still, she’s better than Morgan Freeman as Mr. Sloan, the leader of the Fraternity. Freeman sleeps his way through the film, giving a performance so bad it could almost be considered camp. Anyone else would have been a better choice to play this character.

The film is also truly ridiculous, to the point of being tiring. We go from an early action set-piece at a convenience store that becomes a car chase. There’s an assassination on top of an elevated train, multiple gun fights and fist fights, and then a big scene on a mountain train that leads to the most over-the-top series of events where everyone involved should have died… and then does. And this isn’t even the climax of the movie. At every step the film goes, “oh, you know that action set-piece we just did? Yeah, here’s one even more bonkers.” While I can appreciate the big, shaggy attitude of it, at a certain point it becomes so much, so silly, so dumb that it’s hard to invest anymore.

Still, I do enjoy this movie. It’s hard to be mad at a film that says, “sure, let’s do that, and then take it five steps further… and then again. It’s the shaggiest of shaggy stories, a film packed end-to-end with action simply because it can. It has no restraint, no control, no desire to stop. It’s overwhelming and stupid and completely bonkers. But, you know what? That’s also why it’s fun to pop it on with snacks and sugar and just let the idiocy of the film wash over you. It’s good for that.