Broken Frontier

In 2003, writer Mark Millar introduced the comic book world to Wanted, a six-issue deconstruction of the super-hero mythos. The story centers around Wesley Gibson, a downtrodden young man who is drafted into an elite group of super-villains—known as the Fraternity—who teach him that his deceased father was a renowned criminal. Joining the ranks of the most evil people in existence, Wesley embraces his violent heritage, getting gruesome revenge on a world that had wronged him in the past. Wanted is a nihilistic parody of the archetypal hero’s journey, and an obvious choice for a film adaptation.

Wanted hit theaters on June 27, bearing shockingly few similarities to the popular series. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the story still follows Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), an anxious pill-popping cubicle jockey who is flat broke, hates his job, despises his girlfriend—who is cheating on him with his best friend—and is jarred awake each morning by a train passing just inches past his window. After a chance meeting with the sultry Fox (Angelina Jolie), Wesley becomes a member of the Fraternity, a noble assembly of super-powered assassins led by Sloan (Morgan Freeman, a mentor once again). Each member of the Fraternity has enhanced abilities triggered by a boost in adrenaline, allowing them to curve bullets, flip their cars and perform other tasks painstakingly rendered in CGI.

This film is a major departure from its comic book roots, presenting a lighter, more down-to-earth and decidedly less nasty version of the Wanted story. When the Wesley of the comics joins the Fraternity, he relishes the opportunity it gives him to let his dark side roam free, with startling results. In the film, Wesley’s initial induction into the Fraternity is instead a vicarious joy to watch. His bank account swells to the millions, he tells off his boss in front of his entire office and bashes his backstabbing best friend across the face with his ergonomic keyboard. We can cheer along with Wesley as he makes his journey from the mundane to the extraordinary in the search for the killer of his assassin father.

And McAvoy sells his character’s progression throughout the film. When we first meet Wesley, he’s bug-eyed and pained. However, we see his confidence slowly begin to rise as he casts off the shackles of mediocrity with the help of Jolie’s Fox, who exudes a raw sensuality coupled with intimidating battle-hardened determination. The two have an odd sort of chemistry by the end of the film, even If their pairing is a bit forced.

Okay, so Wanted is not necessarily a faithful comic book adaptation like Batman Begins, Sin City or Iron Man, but Bekmambetov’s version of the story works as an action film in its own right. While comparisons will invariably be drawn to 1999’s The Matrix, the stylized action of Wanted is visually arresting even when it boldly crosses into the realm of the absurd. The film’s slightly heightened sense of reality allows for some of the most exhilarating car stunts and shootouts ever put to film. Wanted is visceral, it’s bloody, it’s brutal and it’s slick. But it’s far from perfect.

Alas, the film has its flaws. Bekmambetov uses a lot of quick cuts that seldom allow necessary scenes to breathe, and some of the plot devices are puzzling and ill-explained. For a film that hinges entirely on an audience’s ability to suspend disbelief, too much emphasis is placed on what Fraternity head Sloan calls the Loom of Fate. Essentially, the loom chooses the Fraternity’s next target based on a binary code sequence embedded in its fabric. It’s bizarre and jarring, especially considering that the Loom of Fate was added entirely by the filmmakers and was not included in the comic book series. Super-villains don’t make the cut, but omniscient fabric does?

While it can hardly be considered a great comic book adaptation, Wanted does exactly what it sets out to do. The stunts are exhilarating, the special effects are extremely well done and the film even includes some fascinating social commentary that you’ll take with you once you leave the theater. Or you might just leave talking about the film’s copious amounts of exploding craniums, which is a different kind of mind-blowing altogether. It’s not what you needed in a summer blockbuster, but appropriately enough, it’s exactly what you wanted.