When the fate of mankind hangs in the balance, where should we look for guidance?

To the history books and those great leaders of the past who sacrificed so much in the name of lasting peace? To religion and the unerring faith in an unseen, benevolent greater power?

No, the answers we seek are in the tangled threads of a white linen shirt.

So says Wanted, a slam-bang action thriller based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, about a brotherhood of gun-toting weavers who divine the future from imperfections in fabric.

If the premise of Timur Bekmambetov's English-language debut doesn't make you chuckle in disbelief, his high-octane film certainly will, blending a potent cocktail of gratuitous violence, jaw-dropping action and adult humour.

The Kazakhstan director's distinctive, hyperkinetic visual style, which energised Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch, runs rampant here.

A thrilling shoot-out during a high speed car chase turbo-boosts into the realms of the absurd when the lead vehicle flips 360 degrees through the air and uses the side of a passing bus to cushion its landing.

Bullets defy the laws of physics and rats full of explosive-laden peanut butter reduce an entire stronghold to rubble.

All the mumbo jumbo about a Loom Of Fate suddenly sounds rather plausible.

Lowly accountant Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) has no money and a girlfriend (Kristen Hager) who is sleeping with his best friend (Chris Pratt).

During a visit to the pharmacy to collect his anti-anxiety medication, Welsey meets sexy stranger Fox (Angelina Jolie), who recruits him into The Fraternity - a secret society of assassins descended from weavers, under the leadership of the enigmatic Sloan (Morgan Freeman).

Sloan entrusts Fox with honing the newcomer's fighting skills and she introduces Welsey to her associates: Gunsmith, The Repairman (Marc Warren), The Butcher (Dato Bakhtadze) and The Exterminator (Konstantin Khabensky).

Together, they transform the shy office worker into a sleek killing machine but as Wesley embraces his bloodthirsty destiny, he realises his mentors might not be as noble as they seem.

Wanted doesn't take itself seriously and nor should we, enjoying this orgy of gravity-defying acrobatics as escapist fantasy writ large.
Bekmambetov's brio draws obvious comparisons with the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix), especially the repeated use of slow motion bullet effects.

However, the Kazakhstan director is more playful, like when Wesley takes a computer keyboard to his best friend's smug face and the airborne whirl of bloodied keys spells out his feelings.

McAvoy's American accent never falters and the physical transformation is impressive. Sexual tension with Jolie's vamp thankfully never comes to the boil.

Freeman's casting signposts one of the twists before the film even starts, while peripheral Fraternity members are poorly served by the script.

Violence is graphic throughout, and almost as colourful as some of the language.

Good manners are worthless when there's a gun pointing at your head.

Film rating 4 out of 5

Watch the trailer here