.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

James McAvoy - action star. Hell, why not. We live a fantastical world where Ben Affleck and Mira Sorvino have the words Academy Award Winner attached to their resumes. So having the fawn from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as a ruthless killer shouldn't be that hard to ingest.

Herein lies the premise for the new action extraordinaire film, Wanted staring McAvoy as Wesley Gibson - an office cubicle working stiff who doesn't have the cahoones to stand up either to the coworker that is boffing his girlfriend or his overbearing weight challenged supervisor that likes to annoy him by clicking a stapler behind his ear while berating him with insults.

This all changes with a visit to the local pharmacy. There, Wes meets Fox (Angelina Jolie in a role that only she can pull off convincingly). Appearing out of thin air and immediately introducing herself to Wes by commenting that he 'apologies too much', Fox goes on to further reveal that his father was recently assassinated and that the killer was in the same store looking to add to his resume.

Before you can ramble off the film's title, a gun fight ensues followed by one of the best car chases we have seen on the big screen in years.

This not-so-by-chance meeting between the two becomes a life changing experience for wide-eyed Wes. Brought back to a textile factory, Wes is introduced to 'The Fraternity', a group of assassins lead by a mysterious older man named Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Members of The Fraternity have unique fighting abilities and are able to bend bullets around stationary objects. Together, they will band to train Wes and make him the lethal weapon that is pronounced as his destiny by an all knowing fabric loom. Yip, no typo here. You read that line right.

The fabric loom is maybe the most important character in the film. Hiding secret coded messages within its weave instructing The Fraternity on who their next assignment will be, the loom's eccentric ridiculousness is overshadowed by its ruthless and serious messages of death. However, as ludicrous and absurd as it might sound, it doesn't take anything away from this helluva summer action flick that provides more Umph! in the first scene than most summer films can do in 90 minutes.

The first American film for director Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Day Watch), Wanted is a guilty pleasure that got my juices flowing as much as any film since the original Matrix.

This isn't largely due to the elaborate action sequences. This is SOLELY due to the elaborate action sequences that pumped more adrenaline into my veins than a Barry Bonds syringe. To comment that Wanted's action sequences are non-stop is an understatement and each new sequence is original and leads to fist pumping pleasures. Where Shoot 'Em Up took violence to an extreme in such as way that audiences either laughed or referenced it to cartoon violence, Wanted throws the kitchen sink at its audience with a uniform 'Whoa!' as a response from the gallery.

And where hundreds of bomb strapped rats sounds like something out of the movie Get Smart, the approach of Bekmambetov and his choreographers and the conviction of the stellar staff in the flimsy material sell it like heaters to Eskimos.

And for all the rats that go boom and incredible chases scenes and crashes it is gun play that will have audiences thinking they are seeing the most original pieces of action sequences since Neo dodged bullets on a rooftop. Who would have thought that curving a bullet could be so cool and I would argue that the idea will be copied in other films both action and spoof for years to come.

As the plot lingers on with directions leading to traitors, father/son relationships and betrayal, I would argue that you won't remember much of the actual story two weeks after viewing. But I also argue that Bekmarmbetov and the gang, don't care. They set out to make a big banged action film and they accomplished what I thought couldn't be done again - they made something truly original and worthy of a second viewing. The only misstep was in having Danny Elfman behind the original music. The film at times had a musical score that made you feel like you were in a Pirates of the Caribbean film rather than a shoot-em-up adventure.

But I digress. A sequel is now what's wanted, and I hope those that survived the end credits can come back again for another bender.