Overview
A young man discovers his father's deadly legacy and must embrace his dark destiny.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- kinetic
- irreverent
- violent
- action movie night
- comic book marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film stylish, energetic, and entertaining, while viewing its absurdly over-the-top plot as thin or incoherent.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Wesley Gibson moves from frustrated office worker to trained assassin after learning his father's secret profession.
The film emphasizes curved bullets, impossible shooting angles, elaborate ambushes, and relentless stunt sequences.
The Fraternity organizes assassinations around fate, inherited skill, and obedience to Sloan's authority.
Wesley's office life, secret base, train crash, and assassination missions connect ordinary urban spaces to a hidden criminal network.
Films like Wanted, and why
John Wick
high-octane assassin thriller with exaggerated gunplay, kinetic visual style, revenge themes, and a secret criminal organization
The Matrix
stylized comic-book action, covert assassins, elaborate set pieces, and a protagonist transformed by violent training
Shoot 'Em Up
over-the-top action spectacle, charismatic professional killers, dark humor, and heightened visual invention
Movie Details
- Director
- Timur Bekmambetov
- Release Date
- 2008-06-19
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (7806)
Cast
- James McAvoy
- Angelina Jolie
- Morgan Freeman
- Terence Stamp
- Thomas Kretschmann
- Common
- Kristen Hager
- Marc Warren
- David O'Hara
- Dato Bakhtadze
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Wanted about?
- A downtrodden office worker discovers his assassin heritage and is remade into a lethal operative inside a secret fraternity.
- What is Wanted like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Wanted as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Wanted violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Wanted as graphic.
- What did critics think of Wanted?
- Critics broadly found the film stylish, energetic, and entertaining, while viewing its absurdly over-the-top plot as thin or incoherent.
- Which films are like Wanted?
- Films with a similar feel include John Wick, The Matrix, and Shoot 'Em Up.
- How long is Wanted?
- Wanted runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Wanted?
- In United States, Wanted is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
