Let's get this out of the way right off the top.  Yes, in terms of basic story line Wanted is essentially the same thing as The Matrix.  It's close enough that they could be accused of cribbing, actually, if not for the fact that Wanted is based on a well respected graphic novel and if they were to go down that road the makers of The Matrix would risk violent retribution from everyone out there who recognizes just how much they stole from Ghost in the Shell.

How close is it?  Well, you've got your basic office drone yanked out of his boring daily life by a beautiful and heavily armed woman who explains that both he and his life are not what they seem and then sets him on a path to self discovery.  And when self is discovered it includes, of course, super human abilities and copious amounts of violence.  Yup.  That's both films exactly.

But where The Matrix wanted audiences to think - a little bit, at least - about the philosophy behind it, Wanted has no philosophy to think about; it just wants to blow shit up.  And shit does indeed blow up in spectacular fashion with the film including a pretty solid handful of things that I have never seen on screen before.  And also it makes Morgan Freeman say 'motherfucker' which I'm sure made everyone on set giggle at the time.

So, basic story.  James McAvoy is Wesley Gibbons, the aforementioned office drone, abandoned by his father pretty much at birth, working a pointless job that he hates, plagued by constant panic attacks, fully aware that his girlfriend and supposed best friend are fucking around behind his back but too apathetic and/or just plain pathetic to do anything about it.   His life pretty much sucks until one day Angelina Jolie arrives to initiate him into a thousand year old secret society of global assassins who take their orders from a piece of fabric.  The fabric bit is a bit weird but Angelina Jolie showing up heavily armed in a sweet sports car to take a guy away from his humdrum existence should be enough to brighten pretty much anyone's day.

So. Right. Angeline Jolie, car chase, gun battle. Wesley is initiated into The Fraternity, the ancient clan of hit men, where he is told that a former member has gone rogue, killed Wesley's absent father who was actually the best hitman among them, is working his way through the rest of the clan, and now only Wesley can stop them.  You see, what he thought were panic attacks was actually a freak bit of genetics that allows his heart to pump at a ridiculous rate, lacing his system with an even more ridiculous level of adrenaline, which in turn allows him to do crazy ass stuff like bending the path of a bullet.

Yes, I know it sounds silly when written down.

Should I start with the bad?  I'll start with the bad, purely because there's only one off note worth mentioning.  James McAvoy is a great actor and fits the character really damn well but his American accent is a bit wonky.  They should have let him speak in his own voice.

With that out of the way, on to the good.  Hollywood has a nasty habit of importing hot shot foreign directors and then grinding them to a pulp, stripping away everything that made them interesting in the first place. Not so with Wanted.  This one brings in Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov and boils him down to his core essence, resulting in the leanest, nastiest, most Bekmambetov-y film in his resume to date.  It's the best thing he's done and is very clearly his from start to finish. 

What makes it so? A compelling mix of style and grit, darkly sarcastic humor, and some stunningly inventive CGI enhanced stunt work.  There are kill scenes and car stunts in this film that I've never even imagined before, never mind actually seeing on the big screen.  They are ludicrously over the top but so well executed that who the hell cares.  It's also nice to see Bekmambetov share his success a bit and bring along his Night Watch star Konstantin Khabensky for a key, and very memorable, support role.  I honestly can't remember the last time a foreign director debuting in Hollywood did that and good on Bekmambetov for showing a bit of loyalty.

So. The Matrix comparisons are inevitable, sure, and more than a little deserved. But Wanted is its own beast, a much more bloody, vulgar, funny and largely amoral beast.  It's pure popcorn and worth every kernel.