After sitting around bored out of my mind for most of the day yesterday, I decided to catch a flick.
I chose to see
Wanted.
Holy crap...this film kicked some serious ass!
Just getting into the movie was an amusing experience.
When I walked in the front door, I noticed that the ticket booth to my right was empty.
On the countertop was a sign that read, "
Please pay at the concession stand."
I walked in and there were about 50 people all with little kids running around.
Apparently, it was "Free Kids Movie Day" and all these parents had brought their children.
There were two lines for the concession stand and behind it were two girls filling popcorn, soda and candy orders for all the customers.
There were about ten people in front of me and at least 15-20 in the line to my right.
After about a minute or two of standing around and noticing that there were no managers and, more importantly, no usher to tear my ticket in half, I calmly stepped out of line, turned to my left, walked into the theater, found a seat and sat down.
Seeing
Wanted didn't cost me a cent. (I'm so bad! Don't tell me you wouldn't have done it, too.
)
Anyway, this film is about a total loser named Wesley Gibson who hates his life and has constant panic attacks.
Do me a favor. Before I tell you about the movie, watch this short clip. It sets the stage but doesn't spoil the film at all...and it's pretty darn cool.
(
NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!!)
Once day Wesley's approached by Fox (Angelina Jolie) and told that his father (whom he never knew) was murdered.
He thinks this is a load of crap until Cross, the assassin who killed his father starts shooting at the both of them while they're standing at the pharmacy counter.
What follows is one of the coolest car chase sequences I've ever seen.
Soon after, Wesley is inducted into a secret group of assassins known as "
The Fraternity".
He decides to leave his old life behind and endures some grueling training.
He gets better and better until he's tasked with his first assignment.
To get the info for his first mission, he's escorted by Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the leader of The Fraternity to a giant weaving loom called the "Loom of Fate".
Apparently, it's some kind of mystical loom that weaves binary code into its cloth. (trust me, it's explained in the movie)
This code is then interpreted by Sloan and it's revealed that when the code is decoded, it gives the name of the next person to be assassinated.
Yes, I know that sounds preposterous, and it is. But the movie unfolded in such a way that I didn't care and just went with it.
So Wesley goes from being a complete loser to a top assassin searching for Cross.
I won't reveal what happens in the rest of the film but let's just say that there's a
BIG plot twist and it works really well.
The ending kicks some serious butt, too.
This film appeals to those who wish they could be bigger than life.
I've heard a lot of people compare this movie to the first Matrix film.
Yes, there are some similarities, but once the story gets going, it becomes a very different film than The Matrix.
For instance, these assassins have the uncanny ability to curve bullets, jump great distances and seem to have a sort of "spider sense" where time appears to slow down.
All of that is explained as the film chugs along, usually at breakneck speed most of the time.
Another thing that makes this film so good is the gunplay.
If you're a fan of
Gunkata, you'll love this movie.
The characters in this film love their guns and you'll see some seriously cool gun battles in it.
To me, this was mindless escapist fun and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I highly recommend this film and give it 3.5 out of 4 stars.
If it's still in a theater near you, go see it before it's gone forever.
If you can't, then do yourself a favor and rent it when it's released on DVD.
It's an awesome film!