Wanted (2008 film)

Not to be confused with Wanted (2009 film).

Wanted
Film poster with a woman (Angelina Jolie) on the left holding a large handgun as she faces right. Her left arm is covered in tattoos. A man (James McAvoy) on the right is facing forward and is holding two handguns, one hand held over the other. The top of the image includes the film's title, while the bottom shows an overhead view of a city's lights as well as the billing block.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTimur Bekmambetov
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Michael Brandt
  • Derek Haas
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMitchell Amundsen
Edited byDavid Brenner
Music byDanny Elfman
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • June 12, 2008 (2008-06-12) (London)
  • June 27, 2008 (2008-06-27) (United States)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million[4]
Box office$342.5 million[4]

Wanted is a 2008 action thriller film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan, loosely based on the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The film stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common and Chris Pratt.

The story of Wanted revolves around Wesley Allan Gibson, who decides to join the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins, after learning that his father was a member of the Fraternity.

Universal Pictures acquired the adaptation rights from Millar in 2004, and while the eventual script drifted from the comic book superhero mythos in the original miniseries, he was content to see most of the comic's darker content retained. Production began in April 2007, with filming in the Czech Republic, Budapest, and the story's main setting, Chicago. Bekmambetov's production company, Bazelevs Production, provided the majority of the film's visual effects. Danny Elfman scored the film, employing a guitar-based musical score.

Wanted opened on June 27, 2008, to generally positive reviews with praise for its fast-pace narrative and stylized action sequences. The film grossed $342 million worldwide. A sequel was announced shortly after the film's release, but ultimately stalled in development.

  1. ^ a b "Wanted". American Film Institute.
  2. ^ a b c "Wanted". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Wanted (2008)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).