Russian director Timur Bekmambetov made a decisive impression with fantasy films “Night Watch” and “Day Watch.” His compositionally sophisticated and distinctive vision of a gritty Moscow overlaying an omnipresent occult world showcased a noteworthy FX-driven panache, and it’s no surprise Hollywood took notice. Though fresh on the scene, he already ranks up there with Del Toro and the Wachowskis as a director able to push cinematic technology to the edge. But like the Wachowskis, who hit it big with “The Matrix” but went downhill from there, his films after “Night Watch” (yes, including “Day Watch”) demonstrate an instinct for quality storytelling that is as questionable as his eye for cinematic wizardry is strong. Quite simply, Bekmambetov provides the distinction between stylish trash and mere trash.
Take Bekmambetov out of the equation and “Wanted” would be yet another super-pulpy comic book confection to be consigned to the trash bid. Like “Sin City,” undeniably astonishing imagery – slow-motion bullets, acrobatic shards of breaking glass, impossible gymnastics – is but window-dressing for orgiastic violence and a relentless gun fetish. Big action scenes, like a pivotal confrontation on a derailed train, pull no punches in terms of spectacle, but gloss over the collateral damage and innocent casualties. Throw in plot elements that see animals used as living bomb-carriers, and “Wanted” has an offensive, even shocking, lack of moral awareness both within itself and without. This is style throwing a party and making violence the guest of honour.
Here Comes the Numbing
But what can you expect from a silly, characterless plot that molds itself as the anti-Star Wars of destiny fulfillment? Call it personal empowerment through the art of assassination. A dissatisfied zero named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy, who would have made a convincing and down-to-earth Peter Parker) undergoes a torturous, sadistic training regimen at the hands of “The Fraternity,” a clan of weavers who carry out physic-defying assassinations on the basis of names spat out by the “loom of fate.” Through beatings and psychological manipulation, Gibson is made to refine his superhuman acuity and become, in just six short weeks, the perfect weapon. Pain and violence as a means to use the Force to kill better, in other words. Darth Sidious would be so proud.
Sure, watching bullets follow curved trajectories and men jump across the air between skyscrapers has the excitement of Neo dodging bullets in the “Matrix,” but the film’s mindlessness is numbing. My reaction, at the film’s end, was summed up nicely by what a character shot through the head – the bullet is shown in loving detail as it pushes through the forehead and breaks the skin in a gush of blood – said: “Oh, f—.”
In all fairness, it’s a bit harsh to question Bekmambetov’s storytelling instincts so early in his career. By all indications, the comic book by Mark Millar and J.R. Jones that underlies “Wanted” –in which super-villains have successfully destroyed superheroes and taken over the world – is considerably more hostile and misanthropic and it could very well be that the film is an improvement. But with all the stories out there waiting to be told, or adapted to film, I’m waiting for a film whose story, like “Night Watch,” is worthy of Bekmambetov’s considerable skill.
Entertainment Value: no stars
Technical Quality: * (out of two)
Wanted. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan. Based on the comic books by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. Starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. 110 minutes. Rated R (for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality).
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