Wanted

Name: Wanted
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Released: June 27, 2008
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman

2008

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 684 Ratings

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4.7

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4.7	Your Score
4.7	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 684 Ratings

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Wanted: Ground Breaking

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Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: June 27, 2008 | R

Starring: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman

Summary: Wanted tells the tale of one apathetic nobody’s transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice. 25-year-old Wes was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. Until he met a woman named Fox. After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society thatWanted tells the tale of one apathetic nobody’s transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice. 25-year-old Wes was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. Until he met a woman named Fox. After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society that trains Wes to avenge his dad’s death by unlocking his dormant powers. With wickedly brilliant tutors—including the Fraternity’s enigmatic leader, Sloan—Wes grows to enjoy all the strength he ever wanted. But, slowly, he begins to realize there is more to dangerous associates than meets the eye. And as he wavers between newfound heroism and vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one could ever teach him: he alone controls his destiny. [Universal Studios]… Expand

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 110 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Michael Rechtshaffen

This over-the-top, ultraviolent, hyperkinetic action thriller pretty much has it all. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

Like it or not, Wanted pretty much slams you to the back of your chair from the outset and scarcely lets up for the duration. Read full review

Premiere Malina Saval

If you're looking for memorable dialogue and gripping drama, then you better get in line for another flick. But if it's spellbinding special effects and high-wire acts you crave, Wanted should be at the top of your list for big budget thrill rides. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Before Wanted reaches the end of its wild course, the violence that's been nothing but oppressive becomes genuinely if perversely impressive; the ritual carnage becomes balletic carnage (railroad cars included); the Walter Mitty-esque hero, Wesley, played by James McAvoy becomes a formidable enforcer of summary justice, and Mr. McAvoy, most memorably the young doctor in "The Last King of Scotland," becomes a certified star. Read full review

Keith Phipps

Wanted is a queasily unapologetic power fantasy about becoming a better person through violence. Read full review

Ty Burr

Preposterous, luridly entertaining. Read full review

Josh Rosenblatt

With every bit of sliced flesh and every punctured skull I found myself wondering who exactly this movie is for. Its unflinching violence has earned it an R rating, meaning its desired demographic – teenage boys – is out of contention. That raises the question: Are there really adults who want to sit through this kind of mindless, bullying mayhem? Read full review

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User Reviews

hugoboy

May 8, 2011

now we have to ask ourselves,why do we watch a movie? And the answer would be entertainment. Of which this movie provides lots of it,that would leave you begging for more. So if you are looking for a sexy,awesome,solid base actioneer,then wanted is the one you want.

7 of 14 users found this helpful77

AnthonyD.

Jun 24, 2008

Getting in early to see this movie has made my summer! If you're lookin for action, you can stop looking...

0 of 1 users found this helpful

PaulK.

Jun 27, 2008

Yes, the rat bombs were a terrible plot point, but otherwise this was a blast. The special effects were top notch, the twist in the middle was great and James McAvoy was superb as always. The ending should have contained a cliffhanger for a full on franchise. Wanted deserves as much and Yes, the rat bombs were a terrible plot point, but otherwise this was a blast. The special effects were top notch, the twist in the middle was great and James McAvoy was superb as always. The ending should have contained a cliffhanger for a full on franchise. Wanted deserves as much and more. Great!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

Kai82

Feb 23, 2020

An interesting movie but also the biggest waste of ideas from the source material in a while. I think I give you the setting of the source material first as comparison: !!!Spoiler warning for the source material!!! Be also warned: There is stuff in the source material that is gruesome andAn interesting movie but also the biggest waste of ideas from the source material in a while. I think I give you the setting of the source material first as comparison: !!!Spoiler warning for the source material!!! Be also warned: There is stuff in the source material that is gruesome and nothing for weak stomachs. It is even to unsavory for me. It is based on a comic by Mark Millar. I mostly like the setting and world building ideas. On first look it is our world or relative similar. If you look behind the surface it was a world were superheroes existed and more like Marvel or DC earths. The super villains had enough of their defeats and failures and band together killing all superheroes. They won but know there is a multiverse out there with other superheroes that will stop them. They use reality manipulation to create the facade of this normal world while ruling with absolute power. Only they know the past or that superheroes existed. Wesley Gibson is the same person as in the movie but here he gets recruited to become a super villains henchman / killer because his father was one (Heredity of abilities). Lets imagine a world were you can do everything you want with no boundaries or moral restrictions and are a truly amoral super villain. He does many horrible things, starts to like it and all implications for the normal human population will be fixed / erased. The first part would made an awesome setting for a movie while I fully understand / agree that they don't want to use the later part. Now you see where many of the plot holes and oddities for the movie come from. For itself it is a good movie with really amazing effects. The characters and their respective actors are also good and deliver their roles. James Mc Avoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman are especially good / praiseworthy. My main problem are the story and oddities. There are many things for me that are involuntary ridiculous or made me thing WTF? It is no failure and an enjoyable really funny and entertaining movie. It just missed the mark to be awesome and they should have used the good ideas from the source materials.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

ChadS.

Jun 29, 2008

Not to be confused with the celebrated folk singing quartet from the forties and fifties, these Weavers are the caretakers of a loom that determines who sleeps with the fishes. That's some loom. If one of these textile hitmen were interrogated by the police, Sloan(Morgan Freeman), for Not to be confused with the celebrated folk singing quartet from the forties and fifties, these Weavers are the caretakers of a loom that determines who sleeps with the fishes. That's some loom. If one of these textile hitmen were interrogated by the police, Sloan(Morgan Freeman), for instance, who is the attending interpreter of dry goods; what does he tell the cross-examiner? The loom told me to do it? As it stands, the very idea of getting your directive to kill from an apparatus that harnesses thread is absurd. "Wanted" might've benefited had the film bothered to mythologize the enigmatic machine. Instead of the brief expository wordage that opens this harebrained actioner, how about a scene in which the loom is situated in its earliest context? "Wanted" seems to have an aversion to overplaying its mystical side. The inventor of the loom doesn't have to wear a sorcerer's hat, but let's see what the original Weavers looked like. Maybe an A-list star like Angelina Jolie("Look at my ass! Look at it! Love it! Worship it! Kneel before its awesomeness!!!") didn't want to be upstaged by an origin story. "Wanted" is about choosing between fate and the free will to influence your own destiny. To properly address this dilemma, "Wanted" needed a concluding scene in which Wesley Gibson(James McAvoy) makes a decision about the loom's future, and the future of the Weavers.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

TimH

Jul 14, 2009

At least this movie made me laugh a few times, lending it a leg up on titles like Aeon Flux and Ultraviolet which are comparably ridiculous. But it was about halfway through that my giggles gave way to facepalms, proving definitively that bullet time is no substitute for actual content.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

McBain

Jun 29, 2008

Absolute rubbish.... the only good thing was the special effects. typical production line film crap. save yourself a few euro and have a few pints instead.

1 of 2 users found this helpful

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