Wanted (2008)

A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.

Director:

Timur Bekmambetov

Writers:

Michael Brandt (screenplay), Derek Haas (screenplay),

Stars:

Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James McAvoy	...	Wesley
Morgan Freeman	...	Sloan
Angelina Jolie	...	Fox
Terence Stamp	...	Pekwarsky
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Cross
Common	...	The Gunsmith
Kristen Hager	...	Cathy
Marc Warren	...	The Repairman
David O'Hara	...	Mr. X (as David Patrick O'Hara)
Konstantin Khabenskiy	...	The Exterminator (as Konstantin Khabensky)
Dato Bakhtadze	...	The Butcher
Chris Pratt	...	Barry
Lorna Scott	...	Janice
Sophiya Haque	...	Puja
Brian Caspe	...	The Pharmacist

Storyline

A young man finds out his long lost father is an assassin. When his father is murdered, the son is recruited into his father's old organization and trained by a man named Sloan to follow in his dad's footsteps.

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Plot Keywords:

fraternity | assassin | office worker | boss | train wreck | 

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Taglines:

Choose your destiny.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Spain]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Se busca

Filming Locations:

Sokolec, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,814,055 (UK) (27 June 2008)

Gross:

$134,568,845 (USA) (25 September 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Timur Bekmambetov is planning a sequel, though creator Mark Millar has denied that he will write one. He is instead creating a story along with the producers.

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Goofs

(at around 59 mins) Fox (Angelina Jolie) character is seen emerging from the water, just as the male character had (whose hair was soaking wet). A few seconds later, her figure is revealed in focus, hair clearly completely dry, and bunned.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Wesley: [voice-over] It's my anorexic boss' birthday. This means there's a certain amount of inter-office pressure to stand around the conference table, eating crappy food and pretending to worship her. Acting for five minutes like Janice doesn't make all our lives miserable is the hardest work I'll do all day. My job title is account manager. I used to be called an account service representative, but a consultant told us we have to manage our clients, and to not service them. I have a ...

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits. The title appears as a headline on a newspaper well into the movie.

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Connections

Featured in National Movie Awards (2008)

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Soundtracks

With a Twist
Written by Harry Garfield
Performed by Harry Garfield

User Reviews

Dark Humor and Non-Stop Action, Fun Summer Film

I know there is a lot of hate going around for this movie (though it oddly manages to maintain a decent rating despite the nay-saying...) but I would really urge people to watch this movie before letting the opinions of others affect their views on it. Sure, the movie takes some liberties with plot and, obviously, physics, but it makes for a fun action/popcorn movie. It is, after all, just a movie. After seeing this film, I would say it was one of the most fun action films of 2008. It's got plenty of violence and stylized action with a dose of sexuality and a decent plot...Wesley Gibson is a miserable account manager with a dead-end life until he is approached by the beautiful Fox, who informs him that his father was a master assassin who had been murdered days before. Gibson is recruited into an assassin's guild known as the Fraternity to hunt down and kill his father's murderer.

The quirk with the Fraternity is that it's assassin's have the special ability to raise their heart rate above 400 bpm, pumping incredible amounts of adrenaline into their system and giving them superhuman reaction speed...basically "bullet-time". So you can expect a lot of over-the-top stunts, including the ability to curve bullet paths. Why there has been a lot of complaints about this aspect of the movie, I don't know. It's not really over-used and it adds a cool element to the movie. The film has PLENTY of action throughout, though most of my favorite scenes were during the course of Wesley's training with the Fraternity. The film also has a "twist" ending, though it isn't difficult to see the truth coming.

For a popcorn flick, the film boasts a great cast. Morgan Freeman is Sloan, the overseer of the Fraternity, and it's the first time I've seen him in such a role. He did seem a little awkward with some of the rougher dialogue towards the end of the film (though I guess it's to be expected...I never expected to hear Freeman spouting "Kill THIS motherf***a" in a film). Angelina Jolie is wonderfully sexy as Fox, though I'm biased to the point where I'd love Jolie in just about ANY role. Rounding out the primary cast is James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson; I had not seen any of McAvoy's previous work but I loved his work in this movie. He is perfectly suited to play both the meek, anxiety-ridden account manager and the elite killer he becomes. He does a great job inducing the element of dark humor into the film with his great delivery.

While I've read quite a few complaints about this film, I can't understand why. It's a guilty-pleasure action film and it's not to meant to be taken completely seriously. It's just a MOVIE and a fun one to boot. When you watch this film, just sit back, disengage your brain, and enjoy the non-stop action and fun characters.