Wanted
Short description
Wanted centres on Wesley Gibson, a frustrated office worker whose life changes when he learns that the father he never knew has been murdered. A woman named Fox draws him into the Fraternity, a centuries-old secret society of assassins that claims to carry out orders dictated by Fate itself. Under the guidance of Fox and the group's leader, Sloan, Wesley discovers dormant abilities that make him unusually suited to killing, and he is trained to use them. As he settles into his new life, he comes to suspect that the organisation is not what it appears to be.
The 2008 action thriller was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, following his two Night Watch films and marking his first English-language production. James McAvoy plays Wesley, with Angelina Jolie as Fox, Morgan Freeman as Sloan and Terence Stamp among the supporting cast. The screenplay was written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan, and the film runs 110 minutes.
Made for about 75 million dollars, Wanted took roughly 342 million dollars worldwide, a strong return. Audiences rate it moderately: on IMDb it holds 6.7 out of 10 from around 427,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.5 out of 10 from far fewer votes. A critics' rating of 6.7 out of 10 from 205 reviews places professional assessments on a par with the wider audience response.
What's left behind the scenes
- According to Timur Bekmambetov, the film features over 1000 scenes with special effects.
- The visual effects for the film were created at Timur Bekmambetov's post-production studio in Moscow, using equipment from the Russian computer hardware manufacturer, "Kraftway".
- Jessica Biel, Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Beyoncé Knowles were considered for the role of Fox.
- The organization of supervillains from the comic book, which destroyed all superheroes, seized power worldwide, and altered reality to erase any mention of them, was transformed in the film into the Weaver Brotherhood, a community of assassins carrying out the orders of the Fate Weaver, who encodes the names of victims in binary code on fabric.
- In the first scene with the wax bath, when Khabensky's character ran for vodka, he sang the song “Sleep, Tired Toys” from the “Good Night, Kids” program.
- The cat Annabel, whom Katy asks to feed at the beginning of the film, is a British Silver Shinx.
- In one of the last scenes, when we see the back of a guy sitting at a computer who strongly resembles Wesley (which is why he became bait for Sloan), the name 'G. J. Millar' can be briefly seen on a sign to the left. Mark Millar is the author of the comic book “Wanted,” and G. J. are the initials of the comic artist J.G. Jones.
- In the Russian dub, James McAvoy pronounces the last word of the film (“hit”) himself in Russian.
- The names of the supposed victims are encoded in ASCII by the loom of fate of the Brotherhood of Weavers.
- On the Blu-ray and DVD editions of the film, an alternative opening can be found in the "Bonus Features" section. In it, a member of the Brotherhood fires a crossbow, spinning the bolt.
- Before the moment when Fox drops Wesley onto the train, Fox’s hair is down, but in the next shot it is tied back in a ponytail.
- Filming began in April 2007 in Chicago. In May, filming moved to Prague. The interiors of the weaving factory were filmed on the grounds of a former sugar factory. Some scenes were also filmed at Křivoklát Castle in the Rakonice region near Prague.
- The film uses individual elements of the comic book's plot, and only Wesley and Fox remain of the characters, although Mark Millar indicated in supplementary materials to the comic book that the main character was based on Eminem, and Fox on Halle Berry. In the film, their roles are played by James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie, respectively, and the appearance of the main characters has also changed significantly: Fox is supposed to be a black woman in a fox costume, and Wesley in the comic book wears a futuristic protective suit that gives him the ability to fly.
- After the "Weavers' Brotherhood" transferred all of Wesley's father's savings, Wesley checks the account balance at an ATM – it shows $3,647,035.59. He then withdraws a substantial amount and checks the account balance again through a computer in the office – it again shows $3,647,035.59.
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