Two very different movies just launched into multiplexes and proved unequivocally that all summer blockbusters are not created equal. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been drooling over “Wanted” since I first saw the promos with James McAvoy curving bullets around Angelina Jolie’s perfectly coifed head, and if given a choice, I doubt I would have willingly seen “WALL-E.” On any given day, I’ll always choose an action film with someone dodging a barrage of bullets over a G-rated, animated family adventure.
So imagine my surprise when I was sleepy and bored thirty minutes into “Wanted.” Don’t get me wrong – I found the visual and sound effects unbelievably compelling and perhaps Oscar-worthy. The visual style of the film is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before; heart-stopping, raw, and offering a needed rush of adrenaline. But the story itself, based on a comic book, loses much in the translation and becomes farcical. We’ve all come to accept a certain suspension of disbelief with these graphic novel adaptations, but at the point Morgan Freeman, the leader of the “fraternity” of assassins, informs his newest recruit (McAvoy) that they are really weavers who take orders from a mystical loom of fate, my interest crumbled. Perhaps if they wore cool super-hero costumes I would have bought it, but “Wanted” just seems to take itself too seriously, illustrating that you just can’t have it both ways.
On the plus side, the humor is witty and delicious, and the action sequences are both exciting and unexpected. We’ve all seen plenty of car chases and fight sequences, but they pale in comparison to the absolute action chaos in “Wanted.” In the negative category, I found myself much less enchanted with James McAvoy without his Scottish accent, and as for Angelina Jolie… Well, she plays herself in just about every movie, so it’s often difficult to distinguish one of her roles from the others. My biggest complaint about the movie is that it lasts a good twenty minutes longer than it should; “Wanted” has a logical ending, and then we pick right back up again and charge toward a ludicrous conclusion. But if all you’re asking for is frivolous fun and you’re easily excited by loud noises and shiny objects, “Wanted” is just the movie for you.
“WALL-E,” Disney/Pixar’s latest, sits completely on the opposite side of the spectrum; if “Wanted” is a disposable top-40 rock song, “WALL-E” is a timeless symphony. Destined to be a family favorite, it’s sweet without being saccharine; timely without being preachy; and genuinely funny without any trace of sarcastic self-loathing. Put very simply, it’s a love story between two lonely and overworked robots that are accidentally thrown together on the wasteland of garbage that is Earth in the year 2700. If anyone had told me a few days ago that an animated, robot love story would have me fighting tears by the end, I would have rolled my eyes and yawned.
There is so much genius to this movie that I don’t even know where to begin – brilliant writing, stunning visuals… “WALL-E” is a near masterpiece. And the fact that the story is so engaging when there is shockingly little dialogue in nearly two full hours is nothing short of a miracle. There is a moment halfway through the movie where “WALL-E” threatens to become another finger-wagging, cautionary tale about human excess and laziness, but the story quickly transcends this and shifts to a tale of personal triumph and responsibility.
And I have a feeling I’m not alone in loving every last second of “WALL-E” and his quirky personality. I sat in a packed theater and watched the entire audience (more than half of the seats filled with adults) laugh, cheer, and cry right along with the little robot that could. For the first time in perhaps a year, as I left the theater, I found myself wondering how long before “WALL-E” is released on DVD, so I can have a pint-sized robot of my very own.
“Wanted” and “WALL-E” are in theaters now.
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