Wanted by Mark Millar - What the heck did the movie do to this?

[TradePaperbackTraitor]

I finally found time to read what some have told me is Millar's best work... Wanted.

I enjoyed the heck out of it, it reminded me of Fight Club, which is ironic because the movie reminds me of The Matrix.

I'm just curious, after watching the trailers for Wanted, it looks like they haven't remained faithful to much in the comics. It seems like most of the main characters are in there. I'm guessing the guy who jumps through the skyscraper glass panel is the opening scene in Wanted's first issue when his father tries to go after the assassins?

But nothing else seems like the comic.

From what I gather:


Fox is now a "good girl?" It looks like Wesley and Fox's first meeting has her killing an assassin, not sadisticly mutilating a fast food restaurant.
There is no super villain league, it's an assassin's league that tries to promote stability? In fact, it looks like superheroes have no part at all in the film.
The Professor is no longer a crime lord?
The competing crime families are not involved? Or at least they look much more normal compared to the versions in the comics?
Wesley is a much better person. No random walks into a police station to kill everyone? Although the trailers show some of the same training like his getting beaten to a pulp while tied up.


Anyone know the scoop on the movie? Is it going to bear any resemblance at all to the comic?

I'm saddened by the removal of the superhero story, but I really hope they keep the "surprise ending" intact.

[Arvandor]

A lot of fans have been ranting about this for quite some time. There have been quite a few threads on it (check both the Image board and the Movies board). Fans have been ranting about the film having absolutely nothing to do with the comic for a long time now.

But the trailers do make the film look like it will be damn cool, regardless.

[rwe1138]

From the way he raves about the flick, I think they just drove a dump truck full of money up to Mark Millar's house.

[Yaw]

I'm curious to see this movie just to see how it pans out because honestly as it stands, I'm wondering why they even paid for rights for the comic book. It seems as if could have been an independent script with the amount of changes that seem to have been made.

[kalorama]

I'm curious to see this movie just to see how it pans out because honestly as it stands, I'm wondering why they even paid for rights for the comic book. It seems as if could have been an independent script with the amount of changes that seem to have been made.

Simple. It's easier (and cheaper) for the studio to pay for rights up front and then pick and choose what parts they want to use than it would be for them to write an "original" script inspired by the source material and risk having the original creator/rights holder launch an infringement lawsuit that could cost them millions to fight/settle.

Think "Terminator" and Harlan Ellison.

[Siddon]

Jeez next thing you know they are going to take Constaintine move him from London to LA, make him American and give him a plucky teenage sidekick


oh wait

[Robo Ape]

I finally found time to read what some have told me is Millar's best work... Wanted.

I enjoyed the heck out of it, it reminded me of Fight Club, which is ironic because the movie reminds me of The Matrix.

I'm just curious, after watching the trailers for Wanted, it looks like they haven't remained faithful to much in the comics. It seems like most of the main characters are in there. I'm guessing the guy who jumps through the skyscraper glass panel is the opening scene in Wanted's first issue when his father tries to go after the assassins?

But nothing else seems like the comic.

From what I gather:


Fox is now a "good girl?" It looks like Wesley and Fox's first meeting has her killing an assassin, not sadisticly mutilating a fast food restaurant.
There is no super villain league, it's an assassin's league that tries to promote stability? In fact, it looks like superheroes have no part at all in the film.
The Professor is no longer a crime lord?
The competing crime families are not involved? Or at least they look much more normal compared to the versions in the comics?
Wesley is a much better person. No random walks into a police station to kill everyone? Although the trailers show some of the same training like his getting beaten to a pulp while tied up.


Anyone know the scoop on the movie? Is it going to bear any resemblance at all to the comic?

I'm saddened by the removal of the superhero story, but I really hope they keep the "surprise ending" intact.

I don't think it was ever going to be made as is, it was too nasty a title for that so their bound to have had to make it more Hollywood friendly. Bit of a shame but their you go it was unrealistic to expect anything else.

[Mr. Croup]

From what I read in a recent Wizard magazine, Millar had a hand in writing the script. He said that before he added his input, it was really terrible.

[IamtheRock3]

Still think it be a twist at the end where he find out he been working for the bad guys all along

But to me it be hard to make a movie about a murderous rapist scumbag and try to get you to root for him. Even people who love wanted, live action vioence is more intense then Drawn violence

Remind me of the Mask. stanley inpkiss was more of a sociopath in the comcic MAYHEM

[kalorama]

From what I read in a recent Wizard magazine, Millar had a hand in writing the script. He said that before he added his input, it was really terrible.

That sounds like something Millar would say.

[TradePaperbackTraitor]

Still think it be a twist at the end where he find out he been working for the bad guys all along

But to me it be hard to make a movie about a murderous rapist scumbag and try to get you to root for him. Even people who love wanted, live action vioence is more intense then Drawn violence

Remind me of the Mask. stanley inpkiss was more of a sociopath in the comcic MAYHEM

I hope the ending is that they're all secretly villains because I don't understand this concept that groups exist to promote stability. I've seen it before in other fictional stories and it just doesn't feel authentic. I guess you could say that's what the CIA tried to do for decades, but it makes a lot more sense from a government's point of view, not a league of assassins. If anything, the more instability, the more money for a group of hired killers.:tongue:

But yeah, I agree it would have been hard for the audience to care about the characters if they were just there for gratuitous violence, although I'd argue that's what some filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino do and people still like his characters.

[Jimmykitty]

I've seen about 20 minutes of the film in a special screening (the whole grocery store scene and the entire chase that follows it).

No super powers, but there is 'something' special about these people. An ability, like a mutant power that can 'manipulate' things in their favor. (shoot bullets out the air, bend bullets around objects, et.) Wesley has a flash of this ability in the grocery store shoot out. So he has some latent power from his father trying to come out.

Apparently they can also reproduce bullets and make service delivery trucks as fast as a sports car. Just kiddin'. But seriously, there were more bullets than rain drops and no matter how fast Joilie's drove her sport car the delivery van was just behind them. I'm talking UPS-style open sided vans. And this generic one was OLD.

Good guys? Bad guys? I don't know, but I also hope for a twist ending where he's been working on the wrong side. However, in classic Hollywood, he'll probably turn around and do the "right thing". (sigh...)

Anyway, it looks good and the stunts are just insane crazy (even if it is CGI).

[Physicks]

I love this graphic novel.

I thought it was crazy original.. There is no way the movie is going to come close to the original story line though.

[soylantgreen]

This really was one of my favorite graphic novels, but honestly, this is one of those rare cases where I think the "Hollywood changes" may actually be for the better. Believe me, I have a hard time hearing those words come out of my mouth :tongue:, but... This is one of those books that, cool as it is, there was no way the general moviegoing public was going to accept - and the main problem was the supervillain slant. I LOVE that aspect of the story - but for Joe Blow movie fan, the moment he hears "supervillain", he's gonna instantly start expecting the main character to become the guy that finds his powers and is the savior for the people, the leader for the return of the superheroes, blah blah blah; it's practically an unconcious thing, its been ingrained into us so much. I like to think of it as the "Star Wars effect" - could the average, casual viewer really have sat through an entire movie with only the Empire? However, by toning down the "supervillain" aspect and making it more about just people with powers, it may be easier for the film to buck storytelling stereotypes and still get the audience to follow along.

And who knows? Maybe the "supervillain" thing is the big surprise at the end? Maybe even... leading into a sequel? :biggrin:

[Kelly Tindall]

Considering that the comic is basically a very, very R-rated mix of The Matrix and Fight Club (with the Secret Society of Super-Villains thrown in) I do not see what the problem is.

[CBikle]

The super-villain angle was the one thing that made the story unique.

Now it's just a movie about a kid getting recruited by a secret organization of good guys to go after there rivals, a secret group of bad guys.

As a premise, I think this has been done a lot.

Truth be told, they could have made this movie without buying the rights to Wanted !

[soylantgreen]

The super-villain angle was the one thing that made the story unique.

Now it's just a movie about a kid getting recruited by a secret organization of good guys to go after there rivals, a secret group of bad guys.

As a premise, I think this has been done a lot.

Truth be told, they could have made this movie without buying the rights to Wanted !

Why are you assuming that they're suddenly a group of good guys? We don't know that - perhaps they just made the whole "we're a group of evil bastards" thing a plot twist, rather than just being upfront about it at the beginning, like they were in the comic. I don't mind that change - I mean, as long as these guys aren't running around in evil spandex, it's gonna be pretty easy for them to hide their intentions when they first meet somebody.

Plus, if you're living in a world where the heroes are all dead, are you still really going to want to run around in an evil cosutme, encouraging other people to rise up against you? Kinda kills the whole "secret" premise and the Fraternity pins thing, doesn't it? If you're removing (or hiding) the supervillain element, it would make sense that they'd want to portray this group as "good" to the movie audience at first - it makes it much more startling when they have to go to battle against another faction that says "hey, we're tired of hiding our evilness in the shadows".

I admit, this is all rambling conjecture, but that's my guess on where the movie might go, and I'm fine with it. :biggrin:

[brundlefly]

Considering that the comic is basically a very, very R-rated mix of The Matrix and Fight Club (with the Secret Society of Super-Villains thrown in) I do not see what the problem is.

And making a movie adaptation of said comic, but minus that 'Secret Society of Super-Villains' element, just leaves us with......yet another Matrix clone. Oh boy! Just what everyone was clamoring for. :rolleyes:

[Alex A Sanchez]

I don't think it was ever going to be made as is, it was too nasty a title for that so their bound to have had to make it more Hollywood friendly. Bit of a shame but their you go it was unrealistic to expect anything else.

Did anyone else find this post to be exceptionally difficult to read?