Wanted | Rotten Tomatoes

Wanted

R

Released Jun 27, 2008

1 hr. 50 min.

Action

Mystery & Thriller

List

71%

207 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. After his estranged father is murdered, he meets Fox (Angelina Jolie), who recruits him into the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley to tap into dormant powers. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.

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Premiered Sep 05

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Critics Consensus

Wanted is stylish, energetic popcorn fare with witty performances from Angelina Jolie (playing an expert assassin), James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman that help to distract from its absurdly over-the-top plot.

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Lanfranco C

Ok, this movie is inspired by a comic, but It has really an over the top plot.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

JosÃ© T

Super fun movie with great action! feels still fun more than a decade after its release date, hopefully they do a sequel one day

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

Full Review

Blu B

This is why I really don't trust review system ratings sometimes. How this has a Fresh rating is beyond my understanding. I could've gone to a 1.5 but I guess by the end my brain turned off to numb the pain. You REALLY have to turn your mind off to enjoy this and even still it's a chore. The plot is so stupid and over the top which would be fine if it was executed well. But this is directed like a combination of Moulin Rouge and a Bourne Movie with none of the good qualities of either. The acting is terrible. Filled with bad dialouge, unlikeable characters, no chemistry, forgettable characters, and McAvoy is somehow terrible in this. Half the time all he does is scream like a Shia in Transformers 2. The cinematography is atrociously bizarre. The CGI is terribly dated and shotty even by 08' standards, the camera angles are all over the place alternating from basic, lifeless, bizarre, and just sometimes I don't even know. This is filled with over the top mind numbing action with no substance to it at all. This is just loud and annoying for no reason non stop probably as an excuse to look past the absurd stupid plot and farfetched beyond belief action scenes. The editing is terrible also. The plot twist is so stupid, you notice every other cut in this because it dtries to become a Bourne movie with fast editing every few minutes out of nowhere and the style of the shots is a complete mess. The story is your basic reluctant hero we have seen a thousand times with a stupid twist. Add on boring, generic, dated music and you see why this is a horrific slog pacing wise. I can't recommend this to anyone. Skip This and don't trust review sites blindly.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/05/23

Full Review

Jay O

A solid movie. Nothing is really amazing, but everything is good and works well together without anything really bad either.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

Full Review

Marco G

Bad script, poor effects (even by 2008 standards) and simply a tasteless production. Everything creates an unconvincing film universe, that tries to outdo itself with unrealistic nonsense in every scene. This movie just stinks.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/09/23

Full Review

Yudha S

Bad.................

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/02/23

Full Review

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Timur Bekmambetov

Director

James McAvoy

Wesley Gibson

Morgan Freeman

Sloan

Angelina Jolie

Fox

Terence Stamp

Pekwarsky

Thomas Kretschmann

Cross

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Wanted: Official Clip - Wesley's Rampage

1:53

Wanted: Official Clip - Viper vs. Van

2:21

Wanted: Official Clip - Go F*** Yourself

2:56

Wanted: Official Clip - First Curved Bullet

1:54

Wanted: Official Clip - Curving Bullets on a Train

3:00

Wanted: Official Clip - Everything They Told You Was a Lie

3:00

Wanted: Official Clip - Grocery Store Shootout

2:28

Wanted: Official Clip - Cross Kills Mr. X

2:59

Wanted: Official Clip - Wesley Fulfills His Destiny

1:34

Wanted: Official Clip - Viper Ride

2:25

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Jim Ridley

Village Voice

Bekmambetov's movie evaporates pretty quickly after it's consumed.

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

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.

Rated: A-

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Bekmambetov made better films in Russia with far less money and more ideas.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

There’s no smarts behind it, merely style and spectacle, and Bekmambetov just runs with it. He’s not concerned with making it look real, just with making it look really cool and letting the audience decide if they’re in the mood to play his game.

Apr 14, 2023

Full Review

Niall Browne

Movies in Focus

Wanted is a 14 year-old boy's fantasy - being given $3 million, a gun and Angelina Jolie as company. Your viewpoint of the film will depend on how well you can suspend disbelief and your opinions on casual violence.

Rated: 2.5/5

Mar 17, 2021

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Stylistic, violent, innovative, startling, unexpected, and outrageous.

Rated: 8/10

Nov 28, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. After his estranged father is murdered, he meets Fox (Angelina Jolie), who recruits him into the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley to tap into dormant powers. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Executive Producer: Marc Silvestri, Adam Siegel, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber
Screenwriter: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Chris Morgan
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Stillking Films, Marc Platt Productions, Universal Pictures
Rating: R (Some Sexuality|Pervasive Language|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $134.3M

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