Wanted (DVD)

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Video:

The DVD release of "Wanted" looks absolutely breathtaking and the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation of the film shows that DVD is not yet ready to hand over the home video crown to Blu-ray. The level of detail is very strong and I found the rat invasion to be one of the impressive scenes in the film. Colors are nicely rendered with strong saturation. The red Dodge Viper in the beginning of the film looks very good and skin tones are quite natural as Angelina Jolie gets to show quite a bit of flesh. There are plenty of scenes in the film that takes place in the shadows and black levels and shadow detail are both excellent. The source print used was in perfect condition and no flaws from either that print or the digital transfer can be found. The Blu-ray release is quite strong as well and while it does look better than this DVD release, this is one impressive looking standard definition title.

Audio:

The soundtrack for "Wanted" arrives via a Dolby Digital 5.1 multi-channel surround mix. English DVS, English Dolby Digital 2.0 matrixed surround and French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are also included as well as subtitles in English, Spanish and French. This is an enveloping mix that gets to life early with the drug store shootout and wild Viper chase sequence. All channels are used effectively and adequately with the .1 LFE channel dealing out strong bass and the rear channels conveying a great deal of information. There is plenty of gunfire and a few explosions in "Wanted" and they all sound very good in Dolby Digital surround sound. Dialogue is strong and the strong soundtrack by Danny Elfman is handled very nicely by the mix.

Extras:

"Wanted" arrives onto the DVD format as a ´2-Disc Special Edition.´ All of the supplemental material is included on the second DVD, which also includes a Digital Copy of the film that is playable on either PC or Macintosh based systems. The first disc boots up with a trailer for the video game adaptation of "Wanted," "Wanted: Weapons of Fate" and then moves into showing trailers for the Coen Brothers film "Burn After Reading" and the now canceled television show "My Own Worst Enemy." The direct-to-DVD sequel "Slap Shot 3: The Junior League" is advertised and just might be worth checking out as the Hanson brothers are part of the film and Leslie Nielsen makes a cameo appearance. There are more advertisements, but I doubt you´ll last as long as I did before pushing the Disc Menu button.

The second disc lacks the seven minutes of advertisements and boots immediately. There is more than two hours of value added content on this disc and the quality varies. The first item, an Extended Scene (1:59) shows more footage of Wesley debating shooting a dead woman. They discuss shooting puppies. Cast and Characters (19:59) is your typical EPK styled documentary and finds most members of the cast discussing their characters and their involvement with this film. There were some nice behind-the-scenes moments interwoven into the production. Stunts on the L Train (2:31) looks at how the bridge jump from the L train was achieved. It is brief, but is a nice breakdown of the scene. Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible (8:28) is the last item on the first menu page and is your typical making-of featurette and shows some nice sequences being shot, but doesn´t provide a lot of depth.

The second menu page contains just two items. Groundbreaking Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution (8:06) looks more of how digital effects were handled in post production to create the film´s stunning action sequences and is a nice addition to the previous featurette. Event the rats were CGI´d in this film. The Origins of Wanted: Bringing the Graphic Novel to Live (8:05) finds the "Wanted" graphic novelist Mark Millar interviewed about the film and looks at how the story was translated to the film. I found it intriguing that Millar grew up believing Superman existed because he saw an old black and white photograph of George Reeves in costume.

A number of features exist on the third and final menu page. Through the Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov (9:04) found the cast and crew patting the film´s director on the back and was your typical EPK making of feature where the director is given in incredible amount of credit. The guy seems like a good director, but I won´t base my opinions on this featurette. Wanted: Motion Comics (13:55) shows eight scenes from the original graphic novel with animated frames and dialogue and music. It is intriguing for fans of the film to enjoy. "The Little Things" Music Video Mash-Up (3:36) is a music video based from film clips and featuring the Danny Elfman song. I found myself liking this song a great deal. Is this what Oingo Boingo would sound like today? Finally, The Making of Wanted: The Game (10:01) is a long form advertisement for the pending video game adaptation of the film.

Closing:

"Wanted" is one of those films where I struggle to call it a good film, but I have no problem telling you flat out that it is an entertaining picture. The premise of the film is culled from a graphic novel which was written by an author that once believed in superheroes. That should be enough to tell you that the action is very much over the top. The direction of Russian auteur Timur Bekmambetov is very good for an action film and Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman are comfortable in their roles and the relatively unknown James McAvoy performs adequately in the film. I still prefer "Shoot ´Em Up," but "Wanted" was enough to keep me interested in the often silly story and I was curious to see how everything would pan out. Aside from a couple teeth groaning moments, I enjoyed myself. The audio and video are both excellent and the second disc is packed with decent special features. You could do better, but this isn´t a bad DVD purchase.

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