Review of Wild Target (1993) by Cynthia L — 16 Mar 2012

In "Wild Target," Victor Maynard(Bill Nighy) is a 54-year old hit man who is learning French. Despite all of that, his mother(Eileen Atkins) still would like grandchildren. Enter Rose(Emily Blunt) who is running a scam with Gerry(Rory Kinnear) to defraud Ferguson(Rupert Everett) of a cool million. Needless to say, he is less than pleased when he discovers the deception, hiring Victor to correct his mistake. However, he breaks his business ethics for the first time by not pulling the trigger when he has Rose in his sights. Trying to make amends with his employer, he only ends up saving her life with the help of Tony(Rupert Grint), a bystander, as they end up running over the wrong person trying to escape.

"Wild Target" has some legitimate laugh out loud moments. A lot of that comes down to Bill Nighy's droll line readings and Eileen Atkins being such a hoot, not to mention Rupert Everett's always welcome presence. Sadly, the script is saddled with the ancient cliche of a wacky woman teaching an uptight man how to live, albeit with a little life and death symbolism sprinkled in. Much of which only goes around in circles, sometimes literally. And as much as we know about Victor and his insane family, Rose simply remains a two-dimensional character while Tony is trapped in a single dimension.