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A frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities. A frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities. A frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.

• Timur Bekmambetov
• Michael Brandt
• Chris Morgan
• Angelina Jolie
• James McAvoy
• Morgan Freeman
• 867 User reviews
• 317 Critic reviews
• 64 Metascore
• 4 wins & 25 nominations total

Top cast 37

• The Gunsmith

• The Repairman

• (as David Patrick O'Hara)

• The Exterminator
• (as Konstantin Khabensky)
• The Butcher

• The Pharmacist

• Check-Out Girl

• Man in the Limo
• (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia James McAvoy screentested for the lead role in early 2006, but was initially rejected, as the studio wanted a more "conventional" leading man. He was later recalled when the producers decided that his character was more "the runt of the litter." The studio ultimately changed its mind and wanted someone geeky. McAvoy got the part.
• Goofs After quitting his job, Wesley sees his and Fox's photo from the security camera, at the pharmacy, on the all newspapers' front pages. Once the incident at the pharmacy occurred, the police would have questioned the pharmacist who had Wesley's name for the prescription (and most likely his address also). The police would have picked him up before he went to work for questioning.

Janice : Jesus H. Fuckin' Popsicle! I still don't have my billing reports, but you've got time to sit there and Google your ass off? Well, I know one thing: you've got your review coming up next week, and I can't wait to start checking me off some big *fucking* *boxes*!

[clicks her stapler for emphasis. Wesley cringes at every click]

Janice : Attitude: *poor*. Performance: *poor*. Management skills: *poor*. Works well with others? Ha! That's a fucking joke.

[looks at Wesley's computer]

Janice : What is this bullshit; who's this prick? Some loser gets his head blown off in the Metropolitan...

Wesley : SHUT THE FUCK UP!

[the office grows quiet]

Wesley : [to co-workers] She has ONE, SINGLE iota of tenuous power! She thinks she can push everyone around?

[grabs Janice's stapler]

Wesley : You don't need this.

[throws the stapler against the wall of his cubicle, smashing it]

Wesley : I understand. Junior High must've been kind of tough, but it doesn't give you the right to treat your workers like horseshit, Janice. I know we laugh at you, Janice. We all know you keep a stash of jelly donuts in the top drawer of your desk.

[crouches down]

Wesley : But I want you to know, if you weren't such a bitch, we'd feel sorry for you. I do feel sorry for you. But as it stands, the way you behave - I feel I can speak for the entire office when I tell you... go fuck yourself.

• Crazy credits There are no opening credits. The title appears as a headline on a newspaper well into the movie.
• Alternate versions The Australian theatrical version cut a 10 second sequence where Wesley jams a gun through a dead man's mouth and uses his body as a shield while he shoots down other gunmen. This version was rated MA15+. Oddly enough, when the DVD came out, it had a sticker on the cover touting the film as "Uncut". While this was true -- and the violence in the gunfight had been re-instated -- the DVD carried the same MA15+ rating.
• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Incredible Hulk/The Promotion/You Don't Mess with the Zohan/The Happening/Baghead (2008)
• Soundtracks Happy Birthday Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill

User reviews 867

• poyntblank64
• Jul 9, 2008
• Is "Wanted" based on a book?
• How many characters from the comic appear in the film?
• How different is this from the comic book?
• June 27, 2008 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official site (Spain)
• Pernstejn Castle, Nedvedice pod Perstejnem, Czech Republic
• Universal Pictures
• Spyglass Entertainment
• Relativity Media
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $75,000,000 (estimated)
• $134,508,551
• $50,927,085
• Jun 29, 2008
• $342,463,063

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 50 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Lacking brains, loaded with brawn

The sultry Fox (Angelina Jolie) is part of a secret society of assassins who take down the bad guys in "Wanted."

“Wanted” slams the pedal to the metal and never slows down. Here’s an action picture that’s exhausting in its relentless violence and its ingenuity in inventing new ways to attack, defend, ambush and annihilate. Expanding on a technique I first saw in David O. Russell ’s “ Three Kings ,” it follows individual bullets (as well as flying warriors) through implausible trajectories to pound down the kills.

The movie is based on comic books by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. Their origin story involves an anxiety-ridden, henpecked, frustrated office worker named Wesley ( James McAvoy ), who you might have glimpsed in a bogus YouTube video trashing his office. In the movie, he gets the opportunity to trash a lot more than that. In a plot development that might have been inspired by James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (but probably wasn’t, because who reads that great man anymore?), Wesley gets the opportunity to avenge on his tormentors and enter a fantasy world where he can realize his hidden powers as a skilled assassin. This happens after he is picked up in a bar by Fox ( Angelina Jolie ), who confides that he is now a member of the Fraternity, a thousand-year-old secret society of assassins who kill bad people. I suppose a lot of people, if they were picked up in a bar by Angelina Jolie, would go along with that story. Although the Fraternity’s accuracy rate can be faulted (they missed on Hitler and Stalin, for example), its selection methods must be Really Deep, since orders are transmitted through the Loom of Fate. As demonstrated in the film, if you look at a cloth really, really, really closely, you can see that every once in a while a thread is out of line. These threads represent a binary code that is way deeper than my old Lone Ranger Decoder Ring. They also raise questions about the origin, method and reading of themselves, which are way, way, too complicated to be discussed here, assuming they could be answered, which I confidently believe would not be the case.

Never mind. Wesley leaves his office life for a hidden alternative existence in which he masters skills of fighting (by hurtling hundreds of feet) and shooting (around corners, for example). And he is introduced to Sloan ( Morgan Freeman ), who, the moment I mentioned Morgan Freeman, you immediately knew was deep and wise and in charge of things. He lives in a book-lined library (but Wesley, to my intense regret, never asks him, “Have you really read all these books? Anything by Thurber?”). Sloan explains that Wesley’s father was a member of the Fraternity, killed years ago by the man Wesley is now destined to kill. This is Cross ( Thomas Kretschmann ), who lurks in Europe, where Wesley also meets Pekwarsky ( Terence Stamp ), another fraternity brother. (Do you suppose the Fraternity’s secret handshake is fatal? If brothers give it to each other, do they both die?)

I’d guess there are, oh, 10 or 15 shots in this entire movie without special effects. The rest of the time, we’re watching motion-capture animation, CGI, stuff done in the lab. A few of the stunts look like they could not have been faked, but who knows? What do you think your chances are when you run on top of a speeding train? For that matter, if you were assigned to kill someone in Chicago, could you figure out a better way to do it than by standing on top of an L train while it raced past your target’s office window? And how did the Fraternity know he would be visible through that window? And how … oh, never mind.

“Wanted,” directed by a hot Russian actionmeister named Timur Bekmambetov , is a film entire lacking in two organs I always appreciate in a movie: a heart and a mind. It is mindless, heartless, preposterous. By the end of the film, we can’t even believe the values the plot seems to believe, since the plot is deceived right along with us. The way to enjoy this film is to put your logic on hold, along with any higher sensitivities that might be vulnerable and immerse yourself as if in a video game. That “Wanted” will someday be a video game, I have not the slightest doubt. It may already be a video game, but I’m damned if I’ll look it up and find out. Objectively, I award it all honors for technical excellence. Subjectively, I’d rather be watching Danny Kaye in the film version of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”

Note: I learn that “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” will be remade next year and will star Mike Myers . Having seen Myers’ “ The Love Guru ,” I think I can predict one of Walter’s big secrets.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson
• Thomas Kretschmann as Cross
• Common as The Gunsmith
• Angelina Jolie as Fox
• Terence Stamp as Pekwarsky
• Kristen Hager as Cathy
• Morgan Freeman as Sloane
• Chris Morgan
• Michael Brandt

Based on the comic books by

• Mark Millar

Directed by

• Timur Bekmambetov

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Eye For Film >> Movies >> Wanted (2008) Film Review

Reviewed by: Max Crawford

In terms of awesome per second, Wanted just set a new record. While the trailers do their best to sell it as a brainless action flick with CGI substituting for plot, in truth it's as smart as it is spectacular. Well acted, engaging and occasionally witty, Wanted's greatest asset is director Timur Bekmambetov's comprehensive understanding of how to construct an action movie. The film is extremely well structured, and while it's built largely from familiar tropes they're somehow made to seem fresh and exciting.

James McAvoy excels in his portrayal of Wesley Gibson, a downtrodden office worker who suddenly finds himself flung headlong into a world of heart-pounding action and ultra-violence. The scene where a voluptuous assassin named Fox (Angelina Jolie) confronts Gibson with his destiny and whisks him off to his new life features one of the best car chases in recent memory. Taken to the headquarters of a cadre of killers, Gibson learns that his father was once a member of this exclusive group, called The Fraternity, and that he was possessed of certain superhuman powers which he has passed on to his son, including lightning-quick reactions and the ability to fire bullets in curving trajectories. The leader of the group, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), informs Gibson that his father was murdered by a member turned rogue, and offers the mild-mannered accountant the opportunity to step into his father's shoes, avenge his death, and inherit his fabulous wealth and glamorous lifestyle. Also Fox keeps giving him the eye. Does he return to his old job? Only long enough to tell his boss where to shove it and beat his cuckolding co-worker across the face with his keyboard.

So of course there's a training montage, and a couple of plot twists as we discover that All Is Not As It Seems. At this point one could be forgiven for drawing comparisons to The Matrix : lowly office worker plucked from humdrum existence, tempted by unfeasibly attractive and deadly female into joining band of killers headed by kindly father figure, things explode and go upside-down and many tons of ammunition are expended. Wanted triumphs over The Matrix in several key areas, however. The plot, while requiring copious suspension of disbelief, is at least somewhat coherent. While we're asked to simply accept that Neo is The Chosen One because the writers say he is, Wanted at least provides a credible reason why only this particular man can perform the task that's asked of him. The direction of action is simply in a different class. Bekmambetov uses CGI to extend the scope of his imagination rather than to make up for the lack of one. Thirdly, while the message of The Matrix is muffled by tiresome solipsism, Wanted's appeal to wake up to one's own potential rings loud and clear.

There's also the small matter of acting. McAvoy really shines here, and while Jolie isn't given terribly much to do, she handles her role with subtlety and restraint. Morgan Freeman remains, as ever, Morgan Freeman. The ending follows the classic formula of sub-boss battle, climactic showdown, final conclusion, and while each of these is set up earlier in the film, they're all resolved in a fashion which is satisfying without being entirely predictable. Like I said earlier: we've seen these tropes before, but they're used as tools rather than crutches. Masterly.

Read more Wanted reviews:

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Writer: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas

Starring: James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, Kristen Hager, Marc Warren, David O'Hara

Runtime: 110 minutes

Country: US

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Watch Wanted with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Wanted is stylish, energetic popcorn fare with witty performances from Angelina Jolie (playing an expert assassin), James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman that help to distract from its absurdly over-the-top plot.

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Wanted (United States, 2008)

Wanted provides the jolt of adrenaline one expects from solid summer entertainment. It exists solely to keep the heart pounding as it shifts from one gear to the next, decelerating only when exposition demands a reduction in pace. The movie marries the superhero origin film with the revenge thriller, blending them with hints of the frenzied intensity embodied by 300 and the visual orchestrations of The Matrix . The storyline, while not Pulitzer material, is strong enough to keep the average viewer involved. But this is one of those experiences where the brain is not the primary organ engaged by what flashes on the screen in the darkness.

The backstory of Wanted postulates that there's a thousand-year old secret society of assassins called the Fraternity whose elite membership have an unsurpassed aptitude when it comes to killing. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a mild-mannered accounts manager, is about to come face-to-face with the truth about his absentee father. Dear old Dad, it seems, was a member of the Fraternity and he passed his genes to his son. Now, following Dad's betrayal and murder at the hands of the renegade Cross (Thomas Kretschmann), the Fraternity wants Wesley to join their number. He is recruited by the head honcho, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), and the hard-to-resist and appropriately named Fox (Angelina Jolie). She has everything but her own news network. Wesley's training is hard-ass but, after a long montage that might as well be set to "Gonna Fly Now" or "Eye of the Tiger," he's ready to take his place alongside Fox and do some train surfing and lip locking.

One could argue that the most important passages in Wanted are among the calmest and most understated: the opening scenes of Wesley toiling away at the office, crammed into a cubicle under the thumb of an intolerant bully of a boss while his "best friend" sneaks away to screw Wesley's girlfriend. This is the part of the movie that humanizes him - that makes us feel like we know him. It's hard to identify with a guy who can slow time and fire a bullet that curves around a corner, but it's difficult not to empathize with someone who's working a dead-end job in a life that's going nowhere. There's a lot of razzle-dazzle and flash in Wanted ; the only reason it means something is because we're rooting for Wesley.

Director Timur Bekmambetov showed in Night Watch that he knows how to do some arresting stuff with his cameras. The flaw with that film is its cold, clinical attitude toward the characters. Here, the approach is warmer and more inviting. Wesley represents our point of entry into this world where the laws of physics (and sometimes logic) have been suspended. He's the everyman who discovers he's more than he thought he was. He's Peter Parker with an attitude. And, face it, who wants Mary Jane Watson when you can have Fox?

Angelina Jolie has always oozed sex appeal, but she's never been able to match badass with dominatrix quite like this. Jolie doesn't have any qualms about showing off her body, nor should she, considering how well sculpted it is. James McAvoy's American accent is a little flawed, but his transformation from dweeb to assassin is believable. Morgan Freeman adds a touch of class to things (much as he does with nearly every movie he's in). There's something perversely delicious, however, about getting to hear Easy Reader say two of George Carlin's seven words that can't be spoken on television.

The action sequences are choreographed like dances of bullets, metal, blood, and sweat. Cars fly upside down at impossible angles. People treat the tops of speeding trains like race tracks. And there's blood and viscera everywhere. Wanted earns its R-rating with the tracking of every bullet as it rips through flesh, muscle, and bone. The film's debt to the The Matrix , with its slow-motion violence and general setup, is undeniable. 300 is also a forerunner. While there's no specific linkage to the story of the indomitable Spartans, there's a strong sense that those who appreciated the early 2007 hit will approve of Wanted . The stories may be vastly different but the vibe is similar.

The film's sense of style is going to capture the praise of some who might normally not applaud a summer movie fueled by adrenaline and testosterone. But Wanted manages to deliver what action fans crave while still maintaining a veneer of artfulness. There are times when the film is flat-out silly (such as the spinning car assassination), but that's part of the movie's charm. At its worst, Wanted is never boring. At its best, it can be damn close to intoxicating. One word, written without apology, describes it best: fun.

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Six years after the last jedi, i've finally figured out why its luke skywalker story was really so controversial, james cameron explains why the terminator franchise needs to move on from past characters & iconography, wanted tries oh so hard to be the next matrix, but despite insane amounts of action, falls short..

No doubt I'll be taking a lot of heat for this since it seems that across the board, Wanted reviews are glowing and effusive in praise. I've seen many comments to the effect of "it was trash, but I loved it anyway." While I certainly wouldn't call it trash, it also failed to win me over.

Now don't get me wrong... Pardon the pun, but going in I really wanted to love this movie. I didn't go in with any thoughts that it would be high art or deep drama - just a cool popcorn flick. But even in popcorn action movies I can only suspend my disbelief so much.

There are minor spoilers related to the very first scene in the film below.

The film opens with a very cool sequence, which had me quite excited to see the rest of the film - an assassin arrives at an office about 20 or so stories high, and commences to have a gunfight with some other guys on the rooftop of a building across the street. It's a really cool scene which demonstrates the assassin's proficiency as he starts taking them out one by one. Suddenly they get the upper hand and he heads back down the hall and launches himself forward apparently at superhuman speed. From there we go from cool to ridiculous.

This is the scene where he breaks through a plate glass window face-first as seen in the trailer, and this is where I started scratching my head - instead of falling, he continues to fly forward, apparently on momentum. Then while still moving forward with no drop in elevation, starts shooting at his enemies. Really, I thought this was going to be some sacrificial scene as he eventually starts to drop, especially from the reverse force of firing his guns... but no. He seems to drop and them magically appears on the rooftop behind the baddies.

This left me wondering: Am I watching a superhero movie or a movie about incredibly ninja-level skilled assassins? This was a question that was never fully answered, and the fact that Wanted takes place in the real word made much of what happens in the movie hard to swallow.

From there we meet anxiety-ridden, cubicle-dwelling Wesley Gibson (played by James McAvoy). His life is in a rut - he's in a dead end job, broke, has a foul-mouthed, overweight harpy for a boss, and his best friend is having sex with his girlfriend. How such a loser managed to score such a good looking girlfriend is beyond me. Anyway he runs into "Fox" (Angelina Jolie) at a mini-mart, where she tells him his father just died and was a master assassin, right before saving his life from another assassin who seems to be out to get Wesley.

A wild action sequence ensues, that while pretty crazy and unbelievable, was not so much so as to suck the fun out of it. Jolie is pretty great as the cool as a cucumber babe assassin and McAvoy plays neurotic so well that it was hard to empathize with the character. Really I just wanted to slap him at this point in the film.

He's taken to meet Sloan (Morgan Freeman) who is the head honcho of a cabal of assassins going back 1,000 years and was started by... weavers. There are people who are "special" so some sort of natural gift is talked about - although I found Wesley shooting the wings off of flies without even trying more than a bit ridiculous.

Wesley is hesitant at first, but when he finds over $3 million in his bank account, it causes him to re-evalute things and the following scene in his office where he finally cuts loose on his boss and best friend is pretty damned hysterical.

He heads back and has no idea what the initiation he's about to go through is like, and let me tell you, it isn't pretty. As a matter of fact it's bloody as hell and goes on long enough to make him start questioning if he even wants to complete it. Of course he does complete it and while he wants to find his father's killer, Sloan tells him it's not yet time and selects the next victim using a method that you'll think is either pretty cool or just plain silly.

Again, Wesley is hesitant when it comes time to actually pull the trigger, but eventually he embraces his role as an assassin, which doesn't really make all that great a hero to be rooting for.

So what was good? Some of the action sequences are balls-out cool. There's a scene towards the end that hints back to the lobby scene in the first Matrix movie. Also the sequence aboard the train was very exciting. Angelina Jolie is always great to watch with that very cool persona, McAvoy was acceptable in assassin mode and it was fun to watch Morgan Freeman cut loose with some less than genteel language.

On the other hand, rarely have I seen so much style applied to so little substance. While some of the action sequences were great, a lot of the time the cameraman brought "shaky cam" to a WHOLE new level. This wasn't the weaving and bobbing POV we've become accustomed to seeing, this was like the guy was having a Grand Mal seizure while trying to point the camera. Imagine someone holding a camcorder, and then just whipping their arm around wildly while filming and that pretty much describes some it.

The curving bullet thing - yeah ok, if you want to go with it, go with it. I could buy it up to a point, but there's a scene at the end where it's taken to such, for lack of a better word, an idiotic extreme that I had to laugh out loud.

Overall Wanted just seemed too self-aware of how cool it was trying to be, with the goal of being "the next Matrix, " and that detracted from it. A lot.

Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' action-packed thriller comic series arrives on the big screen with Wanted. This story revolves around James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson, an account manager with an unfulfilling and aggravating life that changes drastically when he learns the truth about his family. Discovering that he is the son of an assassin who worked for an organization called the Fraternity, he decides to follow in his footsteps and join them. 

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• 2.5 star movies

The Movie Review: 'Wanted'

Any film that features Angelina Jolie as an international assassin is, pretty much by definition, a film that glamorizes violence. But Wanted , the Hollywood debut of Kazakh-Russian director Timur Bekmambetov, does more than glamorize. It glorifies. It fetishizes. It consecrates. The crunch of bone against bone, the rasp of blade through flesh, and (especially) the planting of bullet in forehead such that it may emerge as a crimson bloom out the back of the skull--the movie's commitment to the staging of such traumas is so complete that they almost seem justified on aesthetic grounds alone.

Wanted is in many ways a deplorable film, but it is also--and, depending upon your perspective, this is either a good or a bad thing--an immensely stylish, effective one. More than any film since The Matrix , it is a ballet of brutality. But unlike Keanu's excellent adventure, which tarted itself up with mystical mumbo jumbo and a sci-fi conceit (and made sure most of its victims were computer simulations), Wanted is blunt and unapologetic. I don't believe I've ever seen a movie that advertised itself more plainly as an escapist fantasy for masculine impotence.

Loosely based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, Wanted opens with a setup straight out of a Charles Atlas ad: Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a skinny accounts manager at a dehumanizing firm who is bullied by his fat, repellent boss and cuckolded by his presumed best friend. (All that keeps him from having sand kicked in his face is the fact that he doesn't visit a beach.) But one day at the pharmacy Wesley is approached by a slinky assassin with the all-too-literal name Fox (Angelina Jolie, sporting enough tattoos to give Allen Iverson pause), who saves him from a competing killer (Thomas Kretschmann) and bundles him off to her organization's hideout in an old, castle-like textile factory.

There, her boss, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), explains that they are members of The Fraternity, a centuries' old line of assassins charged with maintaining "balance" in the world. Wesley's long-lost father was a member, too, and he bequeathed his son an unanticipated genetic inheritance: What Wesley believes to be frequent panic attacks are in fact floods of adrenaline so intense that, properly controlled, they can make time itself seem to stop. Within minutes, our erstwhile accounts manager is (literally) shooting the wings off flies. Yes, Wesley is the Harry Potter of hit men, rescued from the workaday world by a fantastical patrimony long hidden from him.

The Fraternity's training regimen, however, bears little resemblance to Hogwarts. Shaping the perfect assassin, it seems, requires that the raw material be punched, kicked, and stabbed a great deal, with periodic interludes in a special healing bath that allows wounds to close and bones to knit at an accelerated pace. Wesley must also learn Wanted 's signature addition to the cinema of violence, the ability to "curve" bullets around obstacles with a flick of the wrist. Soon enough, the rookie hit man is exercising such talents on a series of nameless victims; later he'll be forced to use them on colleagues as well, as The Fraternity proves to be somewhat less fraternal than advertised.

Like Wesley's novel superpower, Wanted is an extended rush of adrenaline, exactly the visceral experience action films always promise but rarely deliver. In typical fashion, the crimes against physics are no less notable than those against morality: Cars flip over other cars so that shots may be fired through sunroofs, bullets bend and twist their way across entire city blocks, a firefight takes place on a derailed train plunging into an alpine ravine. None of the ideas are particularly innovative, but Bekmambetov's gift for spatial choreography is impressive. Best known for his Russian Night Watch series, the director seems poised to reinvigorate the action genre in much the way John Woo did 20 years ago.

McAvoy ( The Last King of Scotland , Atonement ) again demonstrates his versatility in the role of Wesley, and Morgan Freeman opens up a can of Morgan Freemanism slightly nastier than usual. But despite her subsidiary role as Fox, this is Angelina Jolie's movie from the moment she glides onscreen. It's been a long time since a sex bomb of her caliber has affected so masculine a sense of cool, and if what she delivers here is more pose than performance, it is nonetheless effortless and ineffable. When, in the latter half of the movie, Wesley asks Fox, "Have you ever thought about being someone else? Someone normal," she replies simply, "No." I haven't heard a movie line all year that was easier to believe.

Yet there is something sour and inhumane about Wanted that goes beyond the all-too-common ultraviolence. This is a film in which there is no joy to be found apart from the joy of violent mastery, in which any human connection is a sign of weakness and invitation to betrayal. Even sex has been banished from this particular male fantasy: The only times the subject comes up it is as humiliation (Wesley's cheating girlfriend), retaliation (his one kiss from Fox is a vengeful pantomime for the benefit of said girlfriend), or frustration (he--and, as of next week, millions of devastated teenage boys--narrowly misses seeing a naked Fox climb out of her revitalizing bath).

The underlying rage against women is hard to miss: Apart from titanium sex goddess Fox, the entire gender is represented by an ugly, emasculating boss and a bitchy, disloyal girlfriend. But even this sentiment takes a back seat to the contempt the movie heaps on any man weak enough to endure such abuse. Late in the movie, Wesley addresses the audience directly: "Six weeks ago, I was ordinary and pathetic, just like you. ... This is me taking control. What the fuck have you done lately?" Since you ask so nicely, Wesley, I'll tell you: I've watched a movie that, while fiercely entertaining, made me fear for the emotional health of my gender. You have a problem with that?

This post originally appeared at TNR.com.

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Wanted — film review.

The pummeling starts five seconds into "Wanted," and doesn't let up for three hours, save a few breaks for flashy dance numbers and clever one-liners uttered with just the right amount of macho disdain by muscle-bound Salman Khan.

By Lisa Tsering , The Associated Press October 7, 2009 7:53am

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Bottom Line: Shirtless Salman Khan muscles his way into Bollywood history in stimulating masala thriller.

FREMONT, Calif. — The pummeling starts five seconds into “Wanted,” and doesn’t let up for three hours, save a few breaks for flashy dance numbers and clever one-liners uttered with just the right amount of macho disdain by muscle-bound Salman Khan.

Enthusiastic word-of-mouth and a pumping soundtrack are likely to propel this Hindi thriller to blockbuster status in India and the U.S., where one local San Francisco audience erupted into spontaneous applause when Khan stripped down to his bare chest at the film’s climax.

Radhey (Khan) is a ruthless hired killer with an impressive array of job skills. When you get killed by Radhey, you are well and truly killed: His victims get impaled, shot, disemboweled, thrown from heights and tossed from moving Mumbai express trains. But when he comes up against Mumbai’s nastiest gangster, Gani Bhai (the smoldering Prakash Raj, star of “Kanchivaram”), and an odious police inspector (Mahesh Manjrekar), the three men’s power struggles reach a crescendo.

The film marks a splashy directorial debut for Prabhudeva, India’s top choreographer who has spent his career filling movie screens with eye-popping dance pieces. Each song in “Wanted” is even more spectacular than the last, employing literally hundreds of dancers and even featuring Prabhudeva himself in a dazzling cameo dance appearance (Anil Kapoor and Govinda make welcome, humorous cameos too).

It’s clear Prabhudeva wanted to pack as many ideas as possible into his first film, which is a Hindi remake of a Tamil hit. So he dazzles the eye with quick zooms, massive and colorful displays of gore, and fillips such as a fight scene shot under strobe lights.

The pacing is brisk and even builds in pitch in the last half hour, when many other Hindi films lag or veer into absurdity. The powerful performances from Khan, Raj, Manjrekar and ingenue Ayesha Takia demonstrate Prabhudeva is one dancer who knows how to take the lead.

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Common Sense Media Review

Explosive action film is extremely violent.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this over-the-top action film -- which stars Angelina Jolie and is based on a series of comic books, both of which will up its appeal with teens -- is loaded with extraordinarily explicit, extensive, stylized violence, including lots of bloody shootings, beatings, and more (blood and…

Why Age 17+?

Language includes very frequent uses of "f--k," "f--king," &

Extensive, graphic, and bloody violence, including (but not limited to) lots of

Brands seen on screen include Captain Crunch, Cheerios, Snickers, Power Horse En

Some cigar smoking; a character has a prescription for anti-anxiety drugs; some

Intense semi-clothed sexual activity; male and female rear nudity; discussions o

Any Positive Content?

The film revolves around a secret society of assassins who kill on the orders of

Language includes very frequent uses of "f--k," "f--king," "motherf---er," "a--hole," "s--t," "p---y," "horses--t," "whore," and more.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Extensive, graphic, and bloody violence, including (but not limited to) lots of shootings (shown in great detail, with blood splatter and visible brain matter, and often reversed on screen and shown again for cinematic effect), stabbings, slashings (including blood and extensive tissue damage), beatings (including broken bones, shattered flesh and extensive blood), people being burned alive, dead bodies used for target practice, a shooting victim used as a human shield (with a firearm poked through what's left of the head), assassinations, rats used as delivery platforms for plastic explosives, a violent train wreck, car crashes, and a graphic murder/suicide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Brands seen on screen include Captain Crunch, Cheerios, Snickers, Power Horse Energy Drink, Capital One, Google, and more.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Some cigar smoking; a character has a prescription for anti-anxiety drugs; some discussion of the "morning-after pill."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Intense semi-clothed sexual activity; male and female rear nudity; discussions of condoms and "the morning-after pill." Crude discussions of sex. Characters have an affair.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

The film revolves around a secret society of assassins who kill on the orders of a mystical "Loom of Fate" the group's ideology is based on the idea of "Kill one, save a thousand" -- i.e. eliminating people based on the hypothetical ramifications of their unknown future acts. Lead character Wesley vents many of the frustrations of the modern cubicle-dwelling office laborer, questioning the choice between tedious, anonymous conformity or exciting, violent transgression. The fact that he ends up going with the latter is presented as a positive choice.

Parents need to know that this over-the-top action film -- which stars Angelina Jolie and is based on a series of comic books, both of which will up its appeal with teens -- is loaded with extraordinarily explicit, extensive, stylized violence, including lots of bloody shootings, beatings, and more (blood and brain matter splatter are shown). The movie's style owes a debt to The Matrix , but it's much more graphic than that sci-fi epic. The film also suggests that the central character's transformation from corporate cog to killing machine is a positive thing to be admired. Also expect lots of swearing, some cigar smoking, and some pretty passionate scenes (including male and female rear nudity). To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (16)
• Kids say (41)

Based on 16 parent reviews

No redeeming value

What's the story.

WANTED, loosely based on a comic book series by Mark Millar, begins as the tedious, troubled life of white-collar wage-slave Wesley Gibbon ( James McAvoy ) is invaded by a stylish, sexy criminal named Fox ( Angelina Jolie ). She tells Wesley that his father -- long thought dead -- was not only killed yesterday, but was one of the world's greatest assassins. Fox wants Wesley to join her group, The Fraternity, so that he can avenge his father, save his own life from his father's killer, and join The Fraternity's secret mission of "maintaining the balance" of the world by eliminating presumably deserving targets named by a mystical device called "The Loom of Fate." But as Wesley embraces his new life and confidence, he learns that his newfound work has consequences, and his new mentors and peers have secrets.

Is It Any Good?

Wanted is a bold, burly knockout action film that's immensely stylish and superbly shot, but it's also astonishingly violent and graphic. The English-language, big-studio debut of Russia-based director Timur Bekmambetov (best known in America for his Night Watch and Day Watch epic fantasies), Wanted is full of inventive special effects, edge-of-your-seat stunts, and hairpin twists and turns. Wesley, an unhappy office drone, becomes part of a criminal conspiracy that empowers and excites him; the fact that he and Fox kill people named by coded messages from "The Loom of Fate" is a mystical plot device that lends a thin layer of mystical philosophical rationalization to their violent deeds. And McAvoy, Jolie, and Morgan Freeman (as Fraternity leader Sloan) commit to their thin roles completely, and the film has several touches of gallows humor and bizarre bravado.

But when Wesley finds out that all is not as it seems, his newfound life turns poisonous and even more dangerous. The plot's changes and conspiracies are mostly an excuse for hyper-stylized on-screen violence with slow-motion fights and car stunts, curving bullets and beautifully shot bloodshed as Wesley fights to survive. Wanted offers nothing new -- it's clearly aping both The Matrix and Fight Club in its cinematography and sensibility -- but it's so enthusiastically well-made that it's a nearly perfect example of the modern action film. Wanted isn't high art, but it's superbly made trash, and the rare big-money action film that's as entertaining as it is excessive.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the appeal of action films. Why does violent entertainment have such a grip on the public imagination? Talk with your kids about the difference between real life and fantasy -- even teens. Point out that consequences exist -- even if it makes you feel humorless. The fact that violent movies stimulate parts of the brain bears some commentary from the parental units. Families can also contrast Jolie's positive public work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations with her professional work in violent action films. Do the two roles fight against each other, or are they simply different aspects of the same person? Which do you think is the "real" her?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 26, 2008
• On DVD or streaming : December 1, 2008
• Cast : Angelina Jolie , James McAvoy , Morgan Freeman
• Director : Timur Bekmambetov
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 110 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality.
• Last updated : June 17, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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• Home Entertainment Reviews

‘Wanted’ (2008) 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – McAvoy And Jolie Embark On A Bullet-Bending Thrill Ride

• By Dillon Gonzales
• May 5, 2024
• No Comments

Wesley’s (James McAvoy) life is over — his pathetic, old one, anyway. Fortunately, it is all because of a girl. Enter sizzling-hot Fox (Angelina Jolie), who crashes into his life and introduces him to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins, led by the enigmatic Sloan (Morgan Freeman). It seems Wes’ long-lost father was killed while working for the Fraternity … and Wes has been selected to target the rogue member who murdered him. But before he can complete his assignment, Wes must first uncover the dark secrets behind the Fraternity in order to determine his own destiny.

For thoughts on Wanted, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:  

Video Quality

Wanted makes its 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut with an impressive 2160p Dolby Vision transfer from a new 4K master. The new release allows the film to easily look the best it ever has on home entertainment. The original Universal Blu-Ray released nearly 16 years ago looked excellent for the time, but this new disc offers welcome improvements across the board. The 4K UHD disc gets the most out of the 2K Digital Intermediate created from a Super 35 source showcasing a world of pleasing texture and background detail. You can more easily appreciate the naturally filmic quality with a refined grain structure that enhances these elements. Specific details within the makeup, environments, and production design are brought to the forefront.   

The film implements a stylized aesthetic which this disc recreates with accuracy, honoring the comic book influence on the film. The Dolby Vision presentation dials in the palette more than ever, as you have distinct lighting choices presenting with a lovely saturation. Highlights offer a more formidable stability without veering into blooming. The black levels are deeper which allows this transfer to provide a pleasing level of fine detail in darker environments. The improvements in contrast and overall clarity are some of the standout aspects of the disc, especially when exploring shadowy environments that have previously engulfed detail. Skin tones appear natural with an impeccable amount of facial detail. The 4K UHD upgrade honors this film with a dynamite presentation that should please fans.  

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 lossless track which handily brings this world to your living room. While some may be left wishing for a Dolby Atmos upgrade, the reality is that this presentation is no slouch. This disc capably brings the pulse-pounding thrills to life with a depth and clarity of sound worthy of the experience. As Wesley is shaken out of his routine and enters a whole new world, the sounds of each environment flow out of your side and rear speakers for a fully immersive experience. The track engages all of the channels with sound effects and ambient noise that open up the soundscape. 

Action sequences are in heavy supply with a terrific sound design that springs to life without fail. The activity in the low end is substantial and rarely stumbles when it comes to pure strength. Dialogue comes through clearly in the center channel without getting overwhelmed by the music or any sound effects. The score from Danny Elfman emanates with a rich fidelity. Shout! Studios has supplied fans with a strong audio presentation that honors the grandiosity of the experience. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided on this disc.

Special Features  

• Alternate Opening: A nearly three-minute alternate opening is provided that delves more into the ancient lore. 
• Extended Scene: A two-minute extended scene is provided of Wesley freaking out over an ethical issue. 
• Cast and Characters: A 20-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the characters, their place in the world, the performers who bring them to life, and much more. 
• Stunts on the L Train: A two-and-a-half-minute look at some of the stunt work arranged to execute the bridge jump. 
• Special Effects – The Art of Impossible: A nearly nine-minute look at how special effects are used to bring this world to life on screen. 
• Wanted – Motion Comics: A 14-minute collection of excerpts from the graphic novel that are very close to scenes in the film. 
• Groundbreaking Visual Effects – From Imagination To Execution: An eight-minute featurette that explores some of the digital effects implemented in this story. 
• Origins Of Wanted – Bringing The Graphic Novel To Life: An eight-minute piece that looks at the process of adapting the Mark Millar source material for the screen. 
• Through The Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov: A nine-minute spotlight on the special qualities of the filmmaker at the helm, how he pushes the boundaries of what is possible, and more. 

Final Thoughts

Wanted is one of the better Mark Millar adaptations to hit the screen. As with most of his work, some dated elements in the material will cause you to roll your eyes, but much of this has been refined along the journey to the screen. A large part of what makes this film work so well is the grand vision of Timur Bekmambetov, who blends style with function with such an assured hand. This is elevated further by a terrific ensemble that lends some gravitas to this heightened reality. The action is fun and inventive even if the pacing leans almost too brisk when it comes to landing the character moments. Even with some nitpicks, this film remains a blast. Shout! Studios has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a fine array of legacy special features. If you are a fan of the film, this is worth an upgrade. Recommended  

Wanted is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Shout! Studios has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.

Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.

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Maika Monroe's Directorial Debut Puts "Raw and Wild" Women Front and Center

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The Big Picture

• Collider's Perri Nemiroff talks to Simone Faoro and Marin Hinkle about their short film The Yellow during TIFF 2024.
• Faoro reflects deciding to adapt Samantha Hunt's short story with Maika Monroe recognizing the powerful storytelling potential of short films.
• Hinkle aims to empower future female filmmakers and praises working with Monroe, Faoro, and Haley Joel Osment.

Compared to feature-length films, shorts are wildly underappreciated despite being able to inflict a similarly powerful impact. Co-directors Maika Monroe and Simone Faoro create a stunning short film, The Yellow , which is adapted from author Samantha Hunt 's short story of the same name, that intimately dissects suburban dread and existential absurdity. The 14-minute film features mesmerizing performances from Marin Hinkle ( Two and a Half Men ) and Haley Joel Osment ( The Sixth Sense ).

In this interview, Collider's Perri Nemiroff sits with Faoro and Hinkle at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and delves into how they updated the source material to reflect today's issues and their experience working alongside the crew. Hinkle also reveals her goals to uplift future women who are in this industry, expressing her admiration for both Monroe and Faoro. Hear about their experience filming The Yellow in the video above, or follow along via the transcript below.

Short Films Like 'The Yellow' Deserve More Attention

"they're like short stories.".

PERRI NEMIROFF: I feel like nobody pays enough attention to short films, and it's such a beautiful storytelling format that literally doesn't get as much credit because it's short, and I can't quite understand that.

MARIN HINKLE: My brother was visiting prior to me getting on the airplane, and he's never seen a short film before. He said, “I don't understand. How can I pay to go see them?” And actually, I, who had been in the business for many decades, realized that that was probably true. Unless you're in the business, you don't quite know how to have access to seeing short films.

I find that very stressful. Also, sometimes when I cover them, it can be challenging to get them distributed. Then you hear these wonderful things, and then there's no place to access them after the fact. I find that very frustrating.

HINKLE: We were with a producer last night who shared something that I thought was beautiful. She said you should tell people who don't understand the value of short films that they're like short stories. A collection of short stories can offer something that a novel is a very different kind of experience for.

I feel like now I'm going off on a real tangent, but I was thinking about this because one of the movies that I was really excited about here is Life of Chuck , and it is one of Stephen King's short stories. Even with books, I feel like a full book gets way more attention than a short story. It just does not quite compute because both can be equally as powerful.

Here's What Mike Flanagan Does and Doesn't Change About Stephen King's 'The Life of Chuck'

Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan join the writer-director to discuss why this Stephen King adaption may be his best yet.

Clearly, I know what you're short is about. Our viewers might not know about it just yet. Would one of you mind giving a brief synopsis of The Yellow ?

SIMONE FAORO: It's about two unhappy people who spark a magical moment and come together, and a little fantastical moment happens. It's a strange little story.

HINKLE: And then there's also a dog.

I almost got very stressed about that dog.

HINKLE: Yes, we were all a little stressed!

And then I didn't.

Maika Monroe and Simone Faoro Wanted to Depict "Raw and Wild Women"

Simone, I know you co-directed and co-wrote with Maika Monroe, who I am a big fan of. She's been on Collider many times. Can you tell me a little bit about how you first met and what the first thing you saw in her was that signaled to you, "She would be a good creative partner for me?"

FAORO: I've known Maika since we were 16. We grew up together, and we've been best friends for a very long time. We had always wanted to collaborate on something, and we never really knew what. It wasn't until I found Samantha Hunt's book of short stories that I was like, "I want these women that Samantha writes to be on the screen." I just fell in love with them. They're very raw and wild women, and we need more of that represented on the screen. I found the book, and I gave it to Maika, and I was like, "Any one of these stories. Let's do it." She came back with The Yellow, and we got in touch with Samantha and started adapting.

So many follow-up questions. One of my favorite things about an adaptation is that it's an opportunity to respect and celebrate the source material, but also find ways to evolve. What space in her short story did you find that you thought you could bring your unique voice to?

FAORO: For Susanne's character that Marin plays, we kept essentially her little bit exactly the same. I felt like it was really beautiful and impactful, and I didn't want to touch her character. I thought she was perfect as she was. But I felt like Roy, who was played by Haley Joel Osment, could be a little bit updated for the time. The original short story is about a little less than 10 years old. So, Samantha and I were talking, and we felt like we could make him lonelier. In America, there's a crisis in loneliness right now, especially in boys and young men, that I think is really sad . We were tapping into that, and we felt Haley really embodied '90s nostalgia, and we felt like he was the right person to play the role.

Marin Hinkle Strives to Uplift Future Women in Cinema

Marin, on to you with signing on to this. You are very popular. I imagine you have many opportunities, and someone might be thinking, "Why carve out the time to do a short film?" What was it about this material that made you say, "I need this kind of project in my life?"

HINKLE: In the last maybe decades, I've had a chance to work on a variety of roles that have had a kind of cover that they present. We get to see in some episodes, whether it was Judith on Two and a Half Men or whether it was Rose [in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ], we get to see moments of, I call it like an underbelly. But I was very drawn to this piece because I feel like the rawness of a private space that someone has when the family is gone, and you're alone in the house, and maybe you're drinking, or maybe you're dancing to the music that you've wanted to let loose to, I, maybe in my own life, felt like I needed a little bit of that let go.

Honestly, I really wanna work with young women . I really wanna be there to support and to love [them]. "Guiding" is not what I would say because I think I made a lot of mistakes in my career, so maybe I wanna tell them to go a different direction than I went at times. But I really got incredibly drawn to both Simone and Maika and Samantha, who wrote it. I've told all three this: whatever they do from now on, whether I can hold a boom for them or play a tree, I'm here energetically to help this generation go. I was so drawn to that. So, it was a yes right away.

It makes me so happy.

HINKLE: Thanks.

It's such an important thing because someone with your platform eventually pulls someone else up, and then you could pay it forward when you make more movies. That's how the cycle continues and how it gets stronger every single step of the way.

Many questions about your collaborators. First of all, I'll start with the two of them, Simone and Maika. Why, from your perspective, did it feel like the right directing duo to lead you through this process?

HINKLE: This one's beautiful — she’s an incredible photographer and really a visionary and a deep artistic soul. I looked at her work, and I certainly knew Maika’s, and I just knew that their taste and how they were gonna present their direction was right on the same page. I think I was on set for two days, and every single moment they would share their thoughts with one another . They were two peas in a pod, like two elves, two magical sprites, and they never had disagreements, or if they did, it was away from us. It really just felt incredibly invigorating and soulful the way that they worked, and I knew that from the second I talked to them.

Haley Joel Osment's On-Set Spirit Is "Childlike"

"he's a legend.".

Now I obviously have to ask about working with Haley.

HINKLE: He’s a legend.

It’s a raw role that you have to give a lot of yourself to. What is it about him as a scene partner that makes you feel safe and also makes you feel like you could deliver your best work?

HINKLE: Haley, in a funny way, reminded me of Tony Shalhoub. I'm gonna say that because I say this about Tony — every day Tony came to work over the six years I was with him [ on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ], it was childlike because he was like, "I can't believe I get to do this." The expertise of all the years he's been doing it, he has no ego and no hubris about that. And Haley was the same. It was very childlike, how joyful he was at playing a role that's very in despair . I just felt like their casting was extraordinary. It was a perfect merger, and we had to be pretty sexual. We had to be very vulnerable, like, meet, be covered in blood — if I'm allowed to say, I guess I've just said it, a little spoiler alert — but basically, that kind of sexual openness was just about trust. I had it in a second.

I love that.

'The Yellow's Crew Share the Colors They Are Inspired By

I'm gonna end with this question that I feel I could just come across as, "What is your favorite color?" But because of your movie, it has made me think about how I respond to colors and how they make me feel. Can you tell me a specific color that you find inspiring you?

FAORO: The yellow. I love yellow. It's always been my favorite color and I have a lot of clothing that's yellow. It's just my go-to. But I love all colors. Honestly, I love green and blue.

Glad you like green on the Collider set.

HINKLE: I wanna know what yours is. Can we finish with yours?

This movie made me think about it a lot. Mine is red, and it brings me back to my Nana, who always used to say red was a lucky color. Every time I see a lot of red, I feel like something good is going to happen.

HINKLE: You have this connection to her. My mom's is red, too.

FAORO: Red is very cinematic.

HINKLE: I grew up thinking I wanted to be eccentric, and, for some reason, purple felt quite eccentric. I guess I'm gonna go with purple.

FAORO: Great color.

Special thanks to MARBL Restaurant for hosting Collider, as well as our additional sponsors Range Rover, the official luxury vehicle partner of the Cinema Center and Collider Media Studio, poppi, Tequila Don Julio, Canada’s premium spring water brand, Legend Water, and People’s Group financial services.

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