I always thought action movies kind of sucked. Images of piled-up cars, destroyed cities and the overall scenes of violence were just unappealing to me.

But after seeing “”Wanted”” in theaters, I can see why action movies could be appealing, especially when they really get the adrenaline pumping.

The newly released hit action thriller is based on a series of comic books and directed by the Russian director Timbor Bekmambetov.

The use of special effects, such as slow-motion and over-the-top stunts, makes the film entertaining, but not suspenseful.

Wesley Gibson, played by James McAvoy, is an average nobody. Wesley spends his days in a cubicle and evenings being belittled by his cheating girlfriend.

In between he finds the time to fill his prescriptions for anti-anxiety medicine, where the movie’s action starts to take place when he meets the stunning character Fox, played by Angelina Jolie.

Fox approaches Wesley at the pharmacy and informs him that he, like his diseased father, was born to join a fraternity of assassins that have superhuman abilities, such as driving extremely fast through the city of Chicago and shooting curved bullets.

Though the movie’s plot is ridiculously unrealistic, it works by keeping the 104-minute film up to pace, as Wesley joins the team of assassins to change the world by eliminating evil.

But “”Wanted”” isn’t all that great either. The film had much more violence than I had expected. In fact, the violence really never stopped. The assassins literally beat Wesley into a pulp during his training process, which isn’t for the squeamish or feint of heart.

The dialogue is scarce and clichéd, there are several gaps in logic, and the theme of controlling your own destiny is unoriginal at best.

“”Wanted”” does make for an impressive summer action film for devoted action movie goers, but if you’re not into watching 110 minutes of killing machines, you might want to consider skipping it.