DVD
REVIEW: WANTED
2 Disc Special Edition
11/29/08
“Wanted” based on the six
issue comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and directed by
Timur Bekmambetov, the man that brought us the Russian
blockbuster “Night Watch“, features so much over the top
action that it bares comparison to 2007’s “Shoot’Em Up”.
However, "Wanted" has the character development and story
elements that elevate it beyond just your regular action
movie. Yeah it’s a summer movie, and it’s fun and cool, but
“Wanted” also has an appealing story and explores some
intriguing ideas.
In “Wanted”, Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is nobody special,
he has a regular job and an awful boss. His girlfriend is
cheating on him with his best friend and he does nothing
about it. His daily life is filled with boredom and routine.
Wesley further proves to himself that he is a nobody when he
does a Google search for his name that results in zero
matches. Wesley is a nobody until he meets Fox (Angelina
Jolie) at a convenience store where he is picking up pills
for his panic attacks. Fox is there to protect Wesley from
an assassination attempt by Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). Fox
saves Wesley and takes him back to The Fraternity, a secret
society of assassins. Sloan (Morgan Freeman) explains to
Wesley that his father was one of the world’s greatest
assassins until Cross killed him. Sloan also informs him
that his panic attacks are nothing more than a heighten
sense of state and it is an ability that very few people
have, but that his father had too. Wesley refuses to
believe, and returns to his regular life, but after having
heard what he is capable of it is not long before he begins
to believe.
What really makes “Wanted” stand out is the conflict and
drama in it’s story. The writers did a lot more than just
set up the story and let the action take over which is
unusual for these type of movies, but a welcomed surprise.
There are a series of twist and turns the keep the story
interesting. The action is of the type that defies the laws
of physics and relies heavily on special effects. It relies
so much on special effects that I don’t think enough
attention was paid to better choreographing the fight
scenes. Just image if they had choreographed similarly to
what Kurt Wimmer did with “Equilibrium“. If I have one gripe
with the movie it the choreographing of the fight scenes.
The performance by Angelina Jolie was decent, James McAvoy
was good and Morgan Freeman was awesome. Morgan Freeman is
real good at playing these bad-ass characters. His
interpretation of Sloan is pitch perfect.
I also loved the concept of the Fraternity who treats
assassination as a religion. One of the coolest concepts of
the movie is the process by which the Fraternity decides who to kill. They
don’t kill for killing sake, for each target is chosen by
faith, and they do it for the betterment of society. Another
interesting aspect of the movie was Wesley's life as a cubicle
dweller. The scenes with Wesley’s boss and his interaction
at work resemble those of "Fight Club" and while they are not
as good, they do come close to capturing the spirit of that
movie.
“Wanted” is a summer movie, and it does deliver in the
action department and while I thought the choreographing of
the fight sequences could have been better, the story and
ultra cool special effects will give you a tingly feeling
inside. I know a lot of people will compare the special
effects of this movie with those of “The Matrix“,
specifically the bullet time scenes, but at the least they
improved on them with the curving bullet effect.
Review
By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com
DVD: The 2 Disc Special Edition
includes about 90 minutes of special features and it will be available
for limited time only with a digital copy. Most of the special features in this
edition, take viewers beyond the making of the film
especially in the making of the special effects. It also
contains a nice piece called "Cast and Characters", in
which the cast talk about the characters of the film.
For comics lovers the DVD includes a 13 minutes graphic
novel like featurette with narration and sound effects.
And of course it includes the digital copy.
Overall this 2 Disc Special Edition includes mainly what
fans want it to see, plenty of special effects features.
A Complete list of
features are listed below.
VIDEO:
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish
French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
F· Extended Scene
– Be the first to view this killer extended scene from
Wanted.(1:59)
Cast and Characters
– Go behind the scenes with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy,
Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann and Common as they
discuss their roles in the film and their experiences on
set. (19:59)
Stunts on the L Train
– Stunt coordinators Nick Gillard and Mic Rodgers explain
how cast members Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy performed
the astounding elevated train stunt sequence. (2:31)
Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible – Special
effects supervisor Dominic Tuohy explains how his team
pulled off the stunning special effects throughout the film
and how Angelina Jolie contributed to the action. (8:28)
Groundbreaking Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution
– A look at how the spectacular visual effects in the film
were pre-visualized and executed. (8:06)
The Origins of Wanted: Bringing the Graphic Novel to Life
– Creator Mark Millar, producer Marc Platt, director Timur
Bekmambetov and screenwriters Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and
Chris Morgan discuss the original graphic novel and the
process of adapting it for the big screen. (8:05)
Through the Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov
– A video portrait of director Timur Bekmambetov, featuring
interviews with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan
Freeman, Common, producer Marc Platt and the director
himself. (9:04)
Wanted: Motion Comics – Watch as the graphic novel
comes to life on screen with narration and sound effects.
(13:55)
The Making of Wanted: The Game (10:01)
“The Little Things” Music Video Mash-Up (Please note
this feature only appears on the 2-Disc Special Edition and
the standard definition collector’s set.)
Digital Copy
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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