My Thoughts on the Movie Wanted

I like how the movie came full circle. It began where it ended. It ended where it began. It’s an innovative concept to resourcefully extract elements from the plot and strategically deposit it into the fabric of time in a way that gives value and dimension to the storyline. It was more than recycling elements. It was re-invented, as a result. I’m sure, like myself, that many people were attracted to this movie because of Angelina Jolie. She was great in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We couldn’t help but be suspicious about whether this movie would be a generic, poorly reconstructed inspiration or sequel from that movie. Once that concern enters your mind, you’re overwhelmed by incestuous repulsion. Considering how long it was advertised before the movie became available, it started to lose its appeal. But my curiosity and anticipation resurfaced when a trusted friend conveyed my likely interest. I was really pleased with this movie.

For those of you who don’t know, here is some context and background. The movie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, was cast by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, playing the roles, big surprise, of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a couple in a loveless marriage, anonymously murdering for a living until one day their assigned target was to take each other out. Rediscovering their lost spark and invigorated by the chase, their passion is ignited, while they learn about one another for the first time in years. The storyline isn’t the most original. Done carelessly and neglectfully, it could have easily and effortlessly lacked originality. But it was surprisingly entertaining and engaging, which speaks volumes for the chemistry Brad and Angelina portrayed. After all, we, the viewers, probably could have accurately predicated the outcome. It was their presence that made this movie interesting. At the end, they band together to take out each other’s bosses as a way to escape unharmed and pursue an honest marriage.

We have no way of knowing whether they were ultimately killed. So when the movie, Wanted, came out, many of us were originally looking forward to it because we had positive associations with Angelina Jolie being a professional killer. In the preview for Wanted, Angelina’s character, Fox, is an assassin training, James McAvoy’s character, an average Joe to follow in his father’s footsteps. Then as the preview flashes selectively random scenes, you see the two of them making out. The first thought I had, which I suspect was a popular reaction, is that she was making out with someone who could have realistically been her step-son, had the circumstance been a little different. In Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith was briefly married to another woman. Is it really so far fetched to believe that Angelina would play a character that’s slutting around with her late husband’s son? It’d be kinky, right? In the media, females are sexually objectified and promiscuous in an unredeemable portrayal. What better way to hold that standard? Well, I, for one, was more than satisfied for being proven wrong.

It was refreshing to see quality like this. Every other movie seems to chronically reuse stupidity excessively and mindlessly. I know I'm being overly redundant, but it's true. Then there's the cutesy Disney selection, which really isn't my thing. This movie is making me re-examine my cynicism for the movie industry. I'm still skeptical that the quality of movies will be held to a higher standard, but it's been a long time since I've truly enjoyed a movie experience. My friends and I went for a movie marathon and stayed out all night. It was fun.