Wanted - 2 1/2 smiles

The protagonist in “Wanted,” Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), is so unlikable it’s hard to care what happens to him. And in a movie that focuses not on characterization but on adrenalin-pumping action, that’s a puzzle. As we learn in an introductory voice-over, Wesley’s life is stuck: a dead-end job with a bullying boss and a girlfriend who is cheating on him with his best friend. It can’t get any worse and we’re supposed to feel sorry for him. Worse, we’re supposed to identify with him. (If this works, you’ll like the movie; if it doesn’t, you won’t.) Enter Fox (Angelina Jolie) who tells Wesley that his father, a member of a guild of assassins called The Fraternity, has been killed and Wesley is needed to go after the killer. After a series of sadistic training sessions, Wesley has been transformed from dweeb to kick-butt assassin. He can slow down time enough to shoot the wings off flies and curve the trajectory of a bullet (presumably to shoot around corners). Hotshot Wesley performs his training assassinations with aplomb, not seeming to care if there is collateral damage in the form of innocent bystanders. When Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the leader of The Fraternity, directs Wesley to go after his father’s killer, he is ready. And woe be to those who get in his way.

The slender McAvoy is an unusual choice to play this smug gun-toting assassin. It’s like casting Dustin Hoffman to play Neo in “The Matrix.” He just doesn’t fit. Jolie, beautiful as ever, plays Fox with a sly smile and lots of sex appeal. And, as it turns out, Fox is the only character who believes in the moral code of the guild – murder for the benefit of mankind, not for personal gain. Morgan Freeman, as usual, is effective. The action is outrageous, loud, and almost nonstop and there is enough blood, exploding heads, and flailing bodies to satisfy the most voyeuristic fan. “Wanted” is like cotton candy – fluffy, perhaps enjoyable at the time, but, ultimately, empty calories. (6/28/08)