Neat concept!
Comic creator Mark Milliar wrote the original limited series Wanted for Top Cow publishing group in 2003 and 2004. The concept is one that is unique, sort of like Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns, but unlike other comic-to-movie transfers, this one missed the mark ever so slightly.
First, the positives. Wanted is a movie that starts with a bang (no pun intended). You are introduced to this lovable loser who has nothing going for him, his name is Wesley. He works as an account at a job he hates, goes out with a girlfriend that is cheating on him with his best friend and is desperately trying to find his purpose in life. He’s the perfect person for rising into the role of action superstar. He has nothing at the start, but gain only everything as the story progresses. It’s the perfect character for this type of action-story build. Aside from him, the supporting cast is set-up perfectly as well, as you have a definite antagonist, in the man who killed Wesley’s father, and you have good characters that bring unique stories with them, none more than Jolie’s Fox. Fox is a great in-between character who does support Wesley and yet still keeps to the mission. She brings a strong presence to the screen, although she does look like she could tip over handling a large gun, and delivers as if she’s gunning for an Academy Award. I’m not a huge fan of hers, but I like what she did with Wanted. Finally, Morgan Freeman’s character, Sloan. Stylish and very underused, he still knows how to bring the suave, dangerous feel to a role.
Now the negatives, every good action film has a series of moments, just like comedies, which help to drive the film. Underneath those moments are a strong story that acts as a safety net just in case the moments fail. The story underneath Wanted isn’t as strong and convincing as the moments that are on top of it. It’s like biting into a cake and the icing is so much better than the cake itself. The reason for this? Clearly not enough time to establish characters, to build upon them, to help them support the story, to help convince the audience of the story and to follow the comic book story nearly perfectly. For most people, they will argue that you can’t possibly follow something like a comic to near perfection; 300 proved that theory completely wrong. If you have strong screenwriters you can accomplish anything, ask the writers of X-Men, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. For some reason Wanted seemed very rushed. It must be incredibly difficult to combine multiple comics into one two-hour story. Still, it can be done and it has been proven as such. This is the main reason why the movie didn’t score high, in my opinion. It just seemed way too rushed and the story that was the foundation of the entire film seemed to be shaky at best. More time and more creative minds might have made it that much better.
Overall, I think the film does retain some entertainment. There’s enough action here to keep you motivated to enjoy it. If you’re looking for a deeper experience, you may not find it here. This has nothing on Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk, but again it does provide entertainment for the audience. The cast is fantastic, which makes the action better.
Right on target with Blu-ray
I love HD. I love HD. I love, love, love HD. Action films gain so much from the Blu-ray format and the experience of HD for Wanted is unlike any other way to view it. Coming in at a phenomenal 1080p and ground breaking audio coming in DTS-HD 5.1, you will not be able to enjoy it any other way. This is truly how it should be, crystal clear excitement for the senses.
Speaking of excitement. The Blu-ray is loaded with features. Universal Studios is really leading when it comes to features. Disney has its moments, and Paramount isn’t far behind, but Universal has failed to completely disappoint when it comes to the movies it releases. We have had the pleasure of reviewing a helluva lot of Blu-rays for this studio and it puts a lot of heart and soul features. Here’s what you get:
– Alternate Opening
– Assassin Profiles
– Picture-in-Picture (it’s simple, but fun)
– Cast and Characters
– Stunts on the L Train (I thought it was Chicago)
– Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible
– Groundbreaking Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution
– The Origins of Wanted: Bringing the Graphic Novel to Life
– Through the Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov
– The Making of Wanted: The Game
– Extended Scene
– BD-Live features:
– Scene Explorer
– Wanted: Motion Comic
– My Chat
Again, packed with features and easily entertaining. They seem like they’re all in HD, which makes the viewing gorgeous. They’re informative and just help pick up the movie when it’s down a bit. You can tell what the film mainly concentrated on through the features. Special effects were huge in this movie and really entice the audience. The HD reinforcement of the special effects drive the point home. How the special effects were done and translated from comic is just as interesting as seeing them. It’s neat, even the stunts.
Now, main features aside, the BD-Live stuff is impressive. If you have never made it to BD-Live for some reason, give it a moment or two in your life. I had my skeptic moments with it, thinking that the studios (not just Universal) did it to promote the movie more. In a way, they do this, but they make the experience worth it. For example, last week they provided some time with the director of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. A perfect way to make the experience of the movie better. Wanted‘s BD-Live features are really neat, having the ability to to watch Wanted as a motion comic with narration and sound effects (which always helps). You also get the scene explorer which gives you a neat multi-angle experience.