So, I couldn't go to MySpace or IMDB today without banners for this butt nugget being thrown into my face (even as I type this, the banner on the right of the forum is pointing at me and laughing at me for bringing it up), and I eventually gave in and checked out the trailer, which is
right here if you're curious.
This flick is based on an independently published comic mini-series of the same name that came out over the course of, I believe, 2004 and 2005. It was irritating as hell because it took something like 18 months to put out a six-issue mini-series. Anyway, despite the childish extremes to which the "titties and guns and bad words" execution was taken, the concept of the book was the sole part that made it interesting: a worthless twenty-something (who looked like Eminem) is approached by a Catwoman rip-off (who looked like Hallie Barrie) who tells him that his father (who looked kinda like Jon Voight), a killer with the uncanny ability to hit every target he shoots at, was just killed. Now, she wants pseudo Eminem to join her and replace his father amidst the pantheon of super-villains who secretly control the world after killing off all of the planet's superheroes a decade earlier. A class struggle breaks out and the villains get involved in a big civil war that leaves many a brain splattered on the walls.
Here is where the problem lies: because 90% of the characters used in the original comic were parodies of popular comic characters from both Marvel and DC Comics, it's almost impossible to bring these villains faithfully to the screen without invoking a hundred different lawsuits. So, instead of passing on the property, Universal instead opted to throw a bunch of money at Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, grab the white guy from
The Last King of Scotland, and go ahead with the movie anyway, with the following change: the secret organization of super-villains is now a secret organization of super powered assassins who fulfill some kind of holy contracts with a higher power to kill people... they aren't bad guys living the good life and controlling the world, they don't plunder alternate dimensions and revel in the murder of costumed heroes... they're assassins. And apparently our hero isn't just going to accept his new role as Junior Assassin, he's also going to "find the hero inside" somehow... oye.
Again, if you wanted to make this movie, why bother with the "Wanted" title at all? The audience they're trying to appeal to (comic geeks who actually read and still remember the mini-series) are already going to crucify the damn thing once they realize that the entire point of the book has been white washed and sanitized and spat out as a whole other monster. Once you've alienated the comic geeks, you're trying to appeal to everyone else, so why not drop the "Wanted" connection all together, avoid having to pay royalties to the owners of the book's copyrights, and just make enough changes in the movie (title included) that your high priced lawyers can talk your way out of any problems you might have? Bah. This is almost the equivalent to comic book movies what
Super Mario Bros. was to video game flicks...
Granted, I'll see it when it comes out on DVD to see if it manages to not suck, so I'm giving it free reign to exist as a movie before I actually see it, but the bastardizing of the story into something completely different is just irksome... bah.