Wanted

Scientists tell us there are parallel universes where life is the same with minor changes in the event stream. In other words Wanted is a film that exists in such a parallel universe where Sam Peckinpah was never born and the Matrix was never made. The coolness factor Russian director Timur Bekmambetov brought to Nightwatch and Daywatch does not translate in the pulpy and violent Wanted. Nightwatch and Daywatch were huge hits overseas and only attracted a nominal audience in America. Both films were truncated by Fox Searchlight from their longer Russian versions, Now Universal's got Bekmambetov but with very little meat on the bone of the story, his flashy style seems like nothing more than pizazz on top of a warmed over pizza.
Throw in perfunctory appearances by James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman and there's just enough interest to get you through the film but certainly not enough to make you remember it once you've started home. As far as the viewing experience, Bekmambetov gets the sense of parody that was missing in films like Shoot 'Em Up. There are curving bullets, a restorative bath, action on top of a train. Lots of CGI violence. By the time wrap is called, it has become a bit too much. There is an automatic weapon the barrel of which can be adjusted at an angle. This amazing gun was also used in Southland Tales and is part of the arsenal of the Israeli army. It's a moment in the film where the possible meets the impossible.
Remember a Jackie Chan film where he rode a motorcycle onto the top of a moving train. That was a real stunt. None of the stunts in Wanted are real and they feel that way. At least I got a kick out of Freeman saying in his inimitable voice "Kill all the motherfuckers."