New Russian 'Wanted' Trailer Flat Kicks My Ass

I took a beating recently for my article handicapping the best of the best summer movies. The theory worked like this: Discounting hype, discounting box office receipts, what would prove to be the best big flick of Summer 2008. We used The Bourne Ultimatum as our measuring stick. It didn't receive the most press, even though it was a major player of the Summer of Threequels, and it didn't make the most money. But it was hands down the best movie released between the first weekend in May and the last weekend in August. Why did we take a beating on this scientific study? Because we didn't have Iron Man or Dark Knight at the top of the list. Instead, we had Wanted, a new gun-toting action flick from Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov, which stars Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman. Our reasons for placing it at number one had to do with it combining some very arresting attributes, from Bekmambetov's distinctive vision as a filmmaker to Jolie kicking ass (the best woman in the business at that) to another potential leap for McAvoy to some heady and gutsy source material. In short, we thought that it would be the best movie this summer because it didn't have much possibility for downside, whereas the margin of error on Dark Knight is much greater; the expectations are higher, there's a lot more going on in the story and that can be troublesome, etc. For the record, we had Dark Knight finishing second, because the upside is clearly superior to anything else this summer. Wanted doesn't have the high ceiling, true, but it doesn't have as much built-in potential for disappointment if one thing is out of place. And then, we saw this Russian trailer for Wanted, which is making the rounds today. Can I say I don't feel any worse about leaning this direction for the best flick of the summer? You've got to admit: There won't be anything else like Wanted in the next few months. It will stand a stiff test at the box office, opening against Wall-E on June 20th. But if it makes it out of that weekend unscathed, it's got a fighter's chance.