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Wanted By John Mulderig Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- It's more fun to be an assassin than an accountant. That's the basic message of the overheated action rampage "Wanted" (Universal/Spyglass). The numbers man in question is downtrodden, panic-prone Chicagoan Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy, with a convincing American accent). Persecuted at work and betrayed at home by his domineering live-in girlfriend, Wes takes refuge in sardonic humor until, during a routine visit to the pharmacy, he becomes the target of a ruthless gunman (Thomas Kretschmann). Appearing just in time to protect him, and to explain why he's being attacked, is mysterious stranger Fox (Angelina Jolie). She relates, in short order, that Wes' estranged father (David O'Hara) was one of the most gifted hit men in recent history, that he belonged to a secret fraternity of killers of which she's also a member, that the man sending lead valentines Wes' way murdered Dad, and that it is Wes' destiny to become a chip off the old block. After a frenetic car chase, the pair reaches fraternity HQ where the still-uncomprehending Wes is introduced to the group's magisterial leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), who offers him membership. A brief stint back in the real world is enough to convince Wes he has nothing to lose, but he soon discovers that his training will largely consist of being beaten and stabbed by his future comrades (Marc Warren, Konstantin Khabensky and Dato Bakhtadze, among others). Fox, meanwhile, challenges him to pluck a moving shuttle from a loom that could easily maim him. The loom, it turns out, is more than just training equipment. The fraternity of killers was founded 1,000 years ago by medieval weavers and, as Sloan explains, they still choose their victims on the basis of a binary code woven into fabric. This proceeding is justified on the grounds that the people so named may be on the verge of doing something bad. Thus the fraternity's motto: "Kill one, save 1,000." This end-justifies-the-means morality clears the way for Wes' transformation from nebbish to murderous "hero," and he finds increasingly creative ways to dispose of people he's never met before. Spectacular special effects fail to camouflage the random violence and glamorization of killing that underpin Kazak director Timur Bekmambetov's slick adaptation of Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' comic book series. The film contains bloody violence, graphic sexual activity, rear nudity, beatings, nonmarital cohabitation, pervasive rough and crude language, a few profanities and birth-control references. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. - - - Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies. END Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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