Wanted

Admittedly, I wasn't instantly attracted by the advert for Wanted. Curving a bullet doesn't seem like a great hobby, but I'm a big McAvoy fan, so I thought I'd go and have a gander at what all the fuss was about. The first thing that struck me was that this film is an 18. I normally get scared at 12A's, so I had a bit of hesitation. I am so glad I gave this film the benefit of the doubt!
Okay, I found the plot incredibly shaky (I wasn't turned on by the prospect of a loom dictating fate), but I could not deny the acting skills that filled the movie. What I took away from the film, however, was the incredible filmography. There's one particular scene where McAvoy beats up a guy with a keyboard, which is slowed down for emphasis, but the keys fly out of the keyboard and the words "F*ck you" are suspended temporarily in mid-air. Brilliant. I looked around at my SO with glazed eyes and saw that he was exactly the same. There were so many moments like that, when I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. I also spent a lot of time muttering things like "That was SO cool" and "Ohmygiddyaunt...how did they do that?" Whilst there is a lot of blood and guts in the film, I didn't feel it warranted its 18 rating. The only thing that may have pushed it from a 15 to an 18 was an explicit sex scene, but I didn't feel that it deserved the high classification. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but not for the right reasons. I hated the plot, and that's sort of a big deal in a film. I couldn't adjust to the unrealistic portrayals of everything, and whilst the scenes were exhilirating and well-shot, I couldn't believe them. I couldn't believe that sane people would actually listen to a loom. I couldn't believe that if you sit at a window 4.3 miles away from somebody and shot a sniper, you could make it curve past every building, every person, every single obstacle which would stop it and then manage to hit your target when you couldn't even see them. The acting was brilliant, the editing superb. If you're a fan of the techniques of film, this is definately one to watch. If you like a bit of blood in your movies, definately one to watch. If you're a fan of realism, definately one to avoid.

3/5