Wanted is based off of a comic series which I read when it came out. It took place in some alternate universe (i.e., no Supes or Bats) and was an interesting read. Unfortunately the movie tanked the reviews (64% on Metacritic) so I waited to watch it from PacMall.

The opening sequence was great, and followed the comic faithfully, even having all the monologue. After the first action sequence, I was wondering what made this movie deserve the low marks that it was given; was it because I was biased because I had enjoyed the print version? Well I found out soon enough because they deviated from the comics and decided to tell their own inbred story.

The comics were cool because in this universe, the bad guys teamed up and took out all the good guys. Now, the bad-guys-in-charge thing is overplayed thanks to the Marvel Universe, but when I first read it, it was pretty cool. The villains then split up the world into several factions and the story had Mr. Wanted involved in a global turf war. Oh, and there were all sorts of weird (only in comic world) assassins.

It’s too bad that they turned an intriguing premise into a typical Hollywood story. While there were some neat plot twists, and fun action sequences, the nonsensical behaviour in some scenes made things dumb. I’m torn about this, it was a five star in the beginning, but a three star at the end. I think I’d keep it at a three.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: comics, moviereview