Wanted

Last night, I went off to see “Wanted“, the new film with James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. I wasn’t expecting loads from it, but the trailers have all looked stunning, so it was definitely on the “want to see” list, if only for the effects, and the fact that I love the other stuff that director Timur Bekmambetov has done. (Night Watch, Day Watch)

And wow, is it worth seeing. Of course, it’s absolute rubbish – but it’s incredibly watchable and visually astounding rubbish. I can think of at least three parts where you do just sit there with your mouth open, wondering how the hell they did [x], or got the idea for it in the first place. It’s that stunning. It’s also surprisingly violent in places – something that seems to be happening less and less, unless you’re into Hostel, Saw and the like. (and I’m not – horror/blood porn does nothing for me at all) It makes sense for the most part, but you certain raise your eyebrows a bit because of some of the scenes.

Even the final scenes carry a surprise – and that’s all I’m going to say about it. It works really well, but there’s at least one serious surprise in there.

More surprisingly, Angelina Jolie is OK as well. She’s someone I’ve never really been a fan of, but in Wanted she carries off the role pretty well.

All told, just go and see it. Don’t expect high art, but do expect to suspend disbelief for two hours, sit down, and enjoy the ride.