An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Charlotte O'Sullivan's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Timur Bekmambetov.
Cast: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Common
Description: When his estranged father is murdered, bored and disenchanted office worker Wesley Gibson is contacted by a sexy stranger called Fox, who recruits him into the ranks of the Fraternity - a secret society of assassins with lightning reactions, who carry out fate's deadly master plan. Fox encourages Wes to hone his untapped fighting skills and track down the people responsible for his father's demise. Guided by Fraternity elder Sloan, Wes begins to appreciate his capacity for destruction but he also realises that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye. Perhaps he is already in too deep to escape...
Country: US. 2008. 109mins
From dweeb to muscle man: James McAvoy with his brutal guardian angel, Angelina Jolie
Fast and furious: Angelina Jolie
New look: James McAvoy has been working out
Call it kismet, but both Wanted and this week's Prince Caspian contain the same line: 'I was expecting someone taller...' The 'little person' in this case is James McAvoy, the Scottish actor who made his name playing Mr Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
What a difference a few years make. McAvoy, thanks to The Last King of Scotland and Atonement, is now hailed as the new Ewan McGregor. There may be jokes about his height in Timur Bekmambetov's fantasy action thriller but he's definitely the hero of Wanted.
Based on the graphic-novel series by Mark Millar and JG Jones, this film gets a lot of things right. For starters, it neatly recycles Fight Club's plot, offering up a disaffected, literate, hypochondriac dweeb, Chicago accountant Wesley (McAvoy), who is then transformed into a muscle man before our eyes.
Assaulted by flying bullets and dragged by Angelina Jolie into a fast car, Wesley is then introduced to a fraternity of killers who take their orders from a loom - yes, a weaving machine that sends encrypted binary messages via aberrant threads. Don't expect this to make sense but a lot is actually funny.
Wes has the blood of a killer flowing through his veins and must avenge his father's murder. His training, naturally, involves beatings. One of the fraternity ties him to a chair. "Is that OK?" says the tough-guy, brusquely. "Er, yes," replies the well-brought-up Wesley. He gropes for a suitable adjective. 'That's ... nice.'
McAvoy knows just how to deliver these lines - his wryness is thoroughly authentic. Jolie, meanwhile, is inhumanly beautiful, and even touching, as his brutal guardian angel, Fox. The actress seems determined to prove she's a babe with balls. Fast cars, huge guns, ugly tattoos, silly stilettos - she loves this macho horse-play and, because she happens to be talented, she can make some of it fun to watch. Fox and Wesley seem to come from different planets but spin round each other with grace.
Russian director Bekmambetov deserves praise, too. Wanted is shot with energy and style, the editing is flawless; the whole thing looks as crisp and tight as The Matrix. But most of the script is utter bilge water. If you've seen Minority Report, The Bourne series or just about any recent 'dark'; thriller, you'll spot the twist coming a mile off. Morgan Freeman barely surfaces from a coma of indifference and the jokes about Wesley's fat, female boss (which earned a round of applause at the screening I attended) are spiteful and witless.
So where does that leave us? Action heroes are often small (Tom Cruise is a little man and there have long been rumours that Sly Stallone stacks his shoes); Wanted, at least, acknowledges the missing inches - and does so with a smile. What a shame that, in so many other departments, it falls short.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Tonight:
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