Wanted: Critic Reviews

Wanted is kind of unintelligible and idiotic. Also kind of nasty and brutish. And also undeniably kind of fun.

Wanted shows life in the killing lane with lots of zippy effects, action and exploding heads.

The thrilling stunts and hyperkinetic action scenes are the undisputed stars of this surprisingly entertaining film.

Jolie, thin as a wraith and as still as alabaster, reigns supreme as the queen of great screen objects, and Freeman has one of the film's funniest (if profane) lines.

Wanted is quite happy to judge a man by the size of his gun. The irony is that the biggest one here belongs to Jolie, and her Amazon smile indicates she knows exactly how nervous that makes the boys.

Bekmambetov's movie evaporates pretty quickly after it's consumed.

That Timur Bekmambetov's amped-up action flick Wanted makes absolutely no sense is entirely irrelevant. Your brain, in fact, can take a two-hour hiatus. But your adrenal glands will be working overtime.

Before Wanted reaches the end of its wild course, the violence that's been nothing but oppressive becomes genuinely if perversely impressive.

It's a chance to watch a bullet explode from the forehead of a killer -- and an invitation to laugh at the spectacle. See what you do, then tell me who's sicker: Bekmambetov or us.

A one-word review of Wanted would be "Wow."

Wanted has the kind of irresistible summer-movie allure that makes studio executives drool in anticipation. Even its title must swim before their eyes and transform into 'Want-to-See'.

What looks set to be a boyish, pop-eyed fantasy warps into a welter of bloodletting.

Slams the pedal to the metal and never slows down.

If you went for Sin City or Shoot 'Em Up, you'll probably enjoy Wanted. I like my trash with a little less fetishism when it comes to instruments of slaughter.

Timur Bekmambetov makes his U.S. debut with this big, cruel, stupid actioner about an office dweeb (James McAvoy) who gets recruited into an ancient cult of assassins.

Wanted is an assaultive roller coaster of a movie that would be more fun if the violence weren't so nasty, and if the script made any sense.

Working a niche somewhere between the black comedy of Fight Club and the ultrafashionable mayhem of The Matrix, Wanted is an experience that's hard to defend as a whole but mesmerizing in a highway-accident rubbernecking kind of way.

Wanted may be the most absolutely stone bonkers, crazy-good movie of the century. Or it may be a gargantuan piece of trash. Chances are it's a combination of the two. But man, does it rock.

A genuine thrill ride that has the added bonus of being an action movie you don't have to turn your brain off to enjoy.

Like it or not, Wanted pretty much slams you to the back of your chair from the outset and scarcely lets up for the duration.

A 12-armed heavy-metal drummer of a movie, kicking and flailing through two hours of impossible. The car chase of the year.

Wanted hurtles past our eyes and ears too fast to register as much more than a video game.

[Bekmambetov] hasn't just made a thriller with Wanted, he's redefined the genre.

Wanted is too bloody, too over the top, too silly, and too special effects driven. It's also excessively entertaining and fun.

This is a blockbuster busting out of the block; this is a Hollywood staple served up on a European platter; this is summertime fare with a wintry verve.