I went to see Wanted on Friday, and even though many of the themes are the same from the MIllar comic, everything else was totally off.  From the “fate” weaving machine, to the magic bullet theory, what was really missing was the “Oh Shnike!” moments that played better in the comic.

Was the movie enjoyable?  As an action flick, yes.  As a comic book adaptation, a big no.  I’ve heard some grumblings that the movie was a real downer, with the bad guys winning in the end.  In a movie filled with moral ambiguity having the lesser evil win, sat just fine with me.

Still, I missed the super villains, and the jumping to other worlds.  Perhaps that would be too fantastical for audiences to grasp and enjoy in a year when the movie theaters are filled with comic book adaptations.

While Wanted did well in its first weekend, bringing in $51.1 million – half of the opening weekend gross of Iron Man, and just slightly behind Incredible Hulk – it fell way behind Disney’s Wall-E, which brought in $62 million.

If fan reaction was tepid this past weekend, I expect Wanted will tumble at least 60% next weekend.  If you want a good action movie with some very very cool action sequences, then Wanted is probably a flick for you.  If you want to see Shithead and Fuckwit and a slew of other super villain cameos, then reread your Wanted trade.