A loud, glossy, wildly implausible action movie that runs on style, momentum, and attitude more than logic. If you want a slick early-2000s revenge fantasy with comic-book excess and a charismatic cast, it delivers; if you need coherent worldbuilding or a less juvenile edge, it may wear thin fast.
28% ★☆☆☆☆ (680,134)
Wanted
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Action · Thriller · R
2008 · 1h 50m · ★ 28% (680.1K)
Choose your destiny.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman
Overview
Doormat Wesley Gibson is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. He meets an attractive woman named Fox and discovers that his recently murdered father - whom Wesley never knew - belonged to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan, the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley, through intense training, to tap into dormant powers and hone his innate killing skills. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.
Director
Timur Bekmambetov
Production
Kickstart Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions, Top Cow Productions
Cast
James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, Kristen Hager, Marc Warren, David O'Hara, Dato Bakhtadze, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Chris Pratt, Lorna Scott, Sophiya Haque, Brian Caspe, Mark O'Neal, Bridget McManus, Brad Calcaterra, Mike Whyte, Claudia DiBiccari
Curator Review
Verdict
A loud, glossy, wildly implausible action movie that runs on style, momentum, and attitude more than logic. If you want a slick early-2000s revenge fantasy with comic-book excess and a charismatic cast, it delivers; if you need coherent worldbuilding or a less juvenile edge, it may wear thin fast.
Best for
fans of over-the-top action with a self-aware streak
viewers who enjoy stylized gunplay and visual flair
people in the mood for a trashy but entertaining studio spectacle
fans of James McAvoy or Angelina Jolie
Skip if
you need airtight plotting or grounded action
you dislike hyper-stylized violence and cartoon physics
you’re sensitive to macho fantasy or mean-spirited humor
you prefer subtle character work over spectacle
Overview
Wanted is pure studio-era excess: a revenge setup, a secret assassin society, and action scenes that treat physics like a suggestion. Timur Bekmambetov pushes everything toward speed, swagger, and visual punch, so the movie often feels less like a thriller than a fever dream of late-2000s cool. That approach gives it a distinct identity even when the story is absurdly thin.
Worth noting
James McAvoy is the key reason it works at all. He sells the transformation from office drone to dangerous participant with enough charm and frustration to keep the film moving, while Angelina Jolie adds the kind of icy star power the movie is built to showcase. Morgan Freeman’s presence gives it a little gravitas, though the script is mostly interested in escalation, not nuance.
Bottom line
The result is a divisive but memorable action film: crude, ridiculous, and frequently entertaining. It’s best approached as a piece of maximalist genre junk food rather than a serious crime thriller. If that’s the lane you want, it still has enough momentum and invention to be worth a watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Erik 🎼 (3.5★) · 1522 likes
if John Wick shopped at Hot Topic instead of Tom Ford it’d be this movie
Martin (3.5★) · 1432 likes
0% logic. 100% awesome. Also, Morgan Freeman saying "shoot this motherfucker."
Matt McKenzie (2★) · 1412 likes
Bro 1: Bro Bro 2: what bro? Bro 1: you know fight club? Bro 2: yeah bro Bro 1: so imagine fight club Bro 2: yeah man Bro 1: but like... an action movie Bro 2: *in disbelief* Bro 1: and they can like... bend bullets Bro 2: *in more disbelief* broooo Bro 1: and like... Angeline Jolie is in it... and like... Morgan Freeman Bro 2: *beyond disbelief* broooooooo Bro 1: and that goat guy from the Narnia movie Bro 2: *explodes from disbelief*
haley (4★) · 994 likes
who needs logic when you have james mcavoy and angelina jolie looking hotter than ever?
1997 · Action, Crime, Science Fiction · 2h 19m · R · ★ 62% (728.5K) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus
Another wildly heightened action thriller that commits fully to its own ridiculous premise.