Wanted 2008

Luke Y. Thompson, L.A. Weekly: Angelina's first line in the movie is "You apologize too much." The movie itself never does Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: If you went for Sin City or Shoot 'Em Up, you'll probably enjoy Wanted. I like my trash with a little less fetishism when it comes to instruments of slaughter. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Jolie, thin as a wraith and as still as alabaster, reigns supreme as the queen of great screen objects, and Freeman has one of the film's funniest (if profane) lines. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Wanted has the kind of irresistible summer-movie allure that makes studio executives drool in anticipation. Even its title must swim before their eyes and transform into 'Want-to-See'. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Timur Bekmambetov makes his U.S. debut with this big, cruel, stupid actioner about an office dweeb (James McAvoy) who gets recruited into an ancient cult of assassins. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Before Wanted reaches the end of its wild course, the violence that's been nothing but oppressive becomes genuinely if perversely impressive. Read more

Mark Rahner, Seattle Times: Director Timur Bekmambetov's gimmicks and the A-list cast sell the nonsense. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: It carries a bitter aftertaste, but by those low standards, it's a considerable success. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: A genuine thrill ride that has the added bonus of being an action movie you don't have to turn your brain off to enjoy. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Wanted is quite happy to judge a man by the size of his gun. The irony is that the biggest one here belongs to Jolie, and her Amazon smile indicates she knows exactly how nervous that makes the boys. Read more

Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times: Wanted's hyperkinetic antics are sometimes weighed down by a surfeit of adolescent misanthropy. But the adrenaline-overdose strategy works for viewers as well as hit men. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: It's a chance to watch a bullet explode from the forehead of a killer -- and an invitation to laugh at the spectacle. See what you do, then tell me who's sicker: Bekmambetov or us. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The film's high proficiency is at the service of a concept that can most accurately be defined as sadomasochistic. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Wanted may be the most absolutely stone bonkers, crazy-good movie of the century. Or it may be a gargantuan piece of trash. Chances are it's a combination of the two. But man, does it rock. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Wanted is kind of unintelligible and idiotic. Also kind of nasty and brutish. And also undeniably kind of fun. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: Wanted is too bloody, too over the top, too silly, and too special effects driven. It's also excessively entertaining and fun. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: This is a blockbuster busting out of the block; this is a Hollywood staple served up on a European platter; this is summertime fare with a wintry verve. Read more

Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: A one-word review of Wanted would be "Wow." Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: When the characters are on the run, Wanted can be a bloodthirsty crowdpleaser, a passable action flick to while away the summer hours. When they're explaining themselves, you almost wish they'd stuck to their original calling and made rugs, not war. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Wanted demands a high level of credulity, but in exchange it offers some rewards: improbable car-chases, gritty hand-to-hand combat and the sight of Angelina Jolie poured into her pants and packing a pistol. Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek: As the body count rises, so does the portentous tone, and the relentlessness of Bekmambetov's overamped style becomes oppressive. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: What looks set to be a boyish, pop-eyed fantasy warps into a welter of bloodletting. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's a goofy, giddy bit of escapism. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: That Timur Bekmambetov's amped-up action flick Wanted makes absolutely no sense is entirely irrelevant. Your brain, in fact, can take a two-hour hiatus. But your adrenal glands will be working overtime. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: A 12-armed heavy-metal drummer of a movie, kicking and flailing through two hours of impossible. The car chase of the year. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Wanted hurtles past our eyes and ears too fast to register as much more than a video game. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Wanted is an assaultive roller coaster of a movie that would be more fun if the violence weren't so nasty, and if the script made any sense. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Wanted manages to deliver what action fans crave while still maintaining a veneer of artfulness. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Slams the pedal to the metal and never slows down. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Wanted is fast-moving and bloody, enjoyable even within its unapologetically generic limits. But McAvoy is its real secret weapon. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Ultimately, watching Wanted feels like being privy to somebody else's unwholesome fantasy, one you'd rather not know about. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: If the graphic-novel-style hyperviolence of Sin City or 300 is your thing, go ahead and knock yourself out. Or let Angelina do it for you ... It feels so much nicer that way. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Working a niche somewhere between the black comedy of Fight Club and the ultrafashionable mayhem of The Matrix, Wanted is an experience that's hard to defend as a whole but mesmerizing in a highway-accident rubbernecking kind of way. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: [Bekmambetov] hasn't just made a thriller with Wanted, he's redefined the genre. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Directed at a pitch of gritty giddiness by the Kazakhstan-born Timur Bekmambetov, this hard-R splatter-fest about a team of sanctified assassins is also the summer's zazziest action movie. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: This is cinema for people who slow down at car wrecks. Read more

Christopher Orr, The New Republic: I've watched a movie that, while fiercely entertaining, made me fear for the emotional health of my gender. You have a problem with that? Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The thrilling stunts and hyperkinetic action scenes are the undisputed stars of this surprisingly entertaining film. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: 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 more

Jim Ridley, Village Voice: Bekmambetov's movie evaporates pretty quickly after it's consumed. Read more