Monday, June 23, 2008

Wanted - a review

I was lucky enough to get to see a preview screening of Wanted tonight, so felt the urge to write a quick review. Don't worry, no spoilers...
But first:
A review of the guy's head in front of me:
It was all going so well - clear view of the screen, and then a Jared Padalecki lookalike with a huge greasy giant mushroom of a haircut decided to sit in front of me, right in the middle of the screen. So not the best view, I could just about see either side of the screen, but ah well, I didn't pay anything...
So the film...
Well first up, obviously it's very different to the comic book, and I think they made the right move by turning them from superheroes to super-assassins. But going in having watched the super-slick, super cool trailer, I felt a bit let down because a lot of it looked so drab, and there was waaaay too much of Wesley being trained up (I think that bit took up about 2 pages in the comic). And considering it was directed by the guy who did the eye-popping Day/Nightwatch, it could have been a lot more eye-popping, although there are some eye-popping scenes towards the end.
I think one of the problems is that James McAvoy needed to look a bit more like the character in the comic - in his big leather outfit - but he just seemed to be wearing a woolly cardigan for most of the film. Also, the comic Wesley seemed to be based on Eminem - you wonder how different the film might have been with him in it.
So yeah, basically - it wasn't a bad movie - but it could have been a lot better...

2 comments:

Rol said...

Not having read the comic - my problems with Mark Millar are too many to list here - I could to this movie with no expectations. I do like McAvoy though. I'll let you know what I think...

Mart said...

I like Millar a lot. I don't like it when he tries to shock too much - and Wanted is very much in that vein, as was the Superman Red Son thingy.
I'm really loving his new FF book - it's my current fave. And the guy seems to want to give value for money in a comic - making each issue enjoyable on its own terms, instead of all this arc shit.