Brian reviews Wanted

Comic book fans might be split about how much they want to see or even how much they like the latest comic to screen adaptation Wanted starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. But I think most other movie goers won’t have the same questions. I think they’ll just think it’s a great action movie that’s well worth their 10 bucks and 2 hours.

From Marc Silvestri’s MySpace blog:

“For all you comic fans out there who have read and no doubt loved the books, the answer is yes, the movie does veer from the source material. But it does so for all the right reasons because the comic series would be literally impossible to film unfiltered. The “inside gag” of super villains having killed off super heroes had to be jettisoned for the bulk of the audience to accept the core message of the movie. Just explaining that concept would have taken the first hour. The character arc and message that we all “want” a life that matters is intact as is Millar’s twisted comic sensibilities. The books and the movie both offer an outrageous and entertaining answer to the question: “What if I really did get everything I WANTED?” In the hero Wesley’s case it’s a life of less suck and more meaning. Sound relatable? I thought so.”

I am sure that some fans might point to the fact that Silvestri is an executive producer of the movie as well as the head honcho over at Top Cow so he “has to” say these things. Well first, I don’t really think he’s that type of cat and secondly I don’t have either of those titles and I completely agree with him. I don’t think the movie gets made as a more direct telling of the comic series. The comic series has a lot more going on to explain and digest than a 2 hour summer popcorn movie has time for. To be honest, I’m not sure there are any movie execs looking to make a movie like Wanted the comic adaptation would have been. I have the book and I’m not sure I would want to see that flick either. In the great series by Mark Millar and JG Jones there were no heroes and a bit of a playful finger given to the genre and the fans reading it. And it was a great read for those reasons and for others. But for the wider audience the movie (and really 90% of all movies) is aiming for, you needed Wesley to turn from the cubicle slave so many of us can identify with into a hero so many of us wish we could. It’s just a better ride.

And as far as rides go…it is a great one. I didn’t read the book as it was being published but I picked up the highly touted trade when it was released and I liked it. Millar and Jones turned in some excellent work as they always do and it was $19.99 well spent. But I have to say…I liked Wanted the movie more and it’ll get my money again when it hits DVD. The action is great with some fantastic and innovative scenes that you barely get a glimpse of in the trailers. James McAvoy does a fantastic job as Wesley before and after his turning into a badass. Morgan Freeman is…well he’s Morgan Freeman what else do I need to say about him? And of course Angelina Jolie is everything you’d expect from her, sexy as hell and a performer that demands your attention when on screen.

So while this might be only half of a comic adaptation in terms of story, this flick is an entire dose of awesome that I highly recommend you check out regardless if you are a fan of the series or not. I really think if you like slick summer action flicks you’ll enjoy what the movie version of Wanted has to offer no matter your thoughts on the book. Did I mention it has Angelina Jolie in it yet?

Comments

[Terry]

Having not read the comic the movie was based on, I really enjoyed the movie. It was waaaaaay over the top and fun. With the summer (and probably the year and possibly the universe) being ruled by The Dark Knight, I feel a little bad for this movie and Hellboy 2 and basically anything that will have had to open between The Dark Knight and The Clone Wars.

After watching Wanted, I'm now interested in reading the comics. And I guess that's what Millar really wanted anyway.