Wanted (2008)

You can curve a bullet, but apparently not a character arc. Basically the film is Shoot 'Em Up, this time starring Angelina Jolie's Oscar-winning posterior. And the guy from Last King of Scotland. There are enough serious issues with this movie, structurally, that it's kind of hard to believe it winds up a positive experience overall. The entire first act is a flop, as we hear a whiny cubicle-biscuit narrate a miserable life, abused by his girlfriend and his boss, and basically do anything to avoid a fight. Then suddenly the movie abandons all logic and goes hellbound into one crazy action scene after another, slowly turning the whiner into a hardened killer. It's in this second act that the movie finds its footing, and it certainly leaves an impression. Each firefight defies physics in new and creative ways. There's no logic here, just the pure adrenalin kick of seeing the outrageously impossible. By the time the third act abruptly assassinates the second, the movie has so much forward momentum that it barely matters how the script has jumped completely off the rails. In the right frame of mind, the bullet-ballet on show here can be a thing of beauty, but anyone looking for more than the that is best advised to keep on walking.

6 out of 10.