Review of Wild Target (1993) by Melanie J — 02 Sep 2010

Love, love, loved it. One to see if you fancy something a bit different; it's not too in-your-face with action or romance, it's like director Jonathan Lynn took a bit of everything and sprinkled it together.

Considering Lynn hasn't directed anything since 2003 with The Fighting Temptations, which also uses this theme of change and reflection, I think Wild Target was not a bad result. Bill Nighy and Rupert Grint shine through, Nighy playing a hesitant and awkward lonely man, much like his character in Love Actually, and Grint's character is not far from little Weasley, constantly anxious but with a pinch of cockiness. Thus, we had a strong cast even if the comedy didn't always live up to it. The action that was involved was not particularly threatening, as the tension was cut quickly however there was one scene that caught me off guard. The narrative is simple, hit-man Victor Maynard (Nighy) is sent to kill Rose (Emily Blunt), however he takes a liking to her and ends up bumping into Tony (Grint) who tags along the way to escape Dixon (Martin Freeman), another hit-man slightly lower down on the ladder who is looking for Rose who sold his boss the wrong painting.

Through a series of locations in a minuscule red mini; which adds to the humour when you take in Nighy's pristine appearance, the three become a team (if not disturbingly more) and learn to live with each other's bad habits, including plastic covers over furniture, an overly clipped bonsai tree and cows looking "a lot bigger in person". A short but sweet British comedy that anyone can enjoy but one that perhaps an older generation would appreciate more (I only say this due to the amount of giggles coming from the two women sat in front of me).

Emily Blunt (The Wolfman), beautiful but sneaky, was very entertaining considering most of her work consists of period dramas. I admired her ability to act tough on the outside all the time, but by the end she is quite the opposite. The film was full of odd camera angles and uncomfortably close up shots but this made it all the more interesting to watch. The soundtrack was typically comical, with fair-ground like music for car chases to make them more amusing. For me this was a definite feel good film, I left the cinema feeling content and reflective, despite the slightly unrealistic ending.