Review of Wild Target (2010) by Prashant K — 27 Oct 2010

Wild Target is a remake of Pierre Salvadori's early-90's French film, Cible emouvante. This British version's director is Jonathan Lynn -- a director with a very varied, hit-or-miss filmography that inclues high-highs (Clue, My Cousin Vinny) and low-lows (Sgt.

Bilko, The Fighting Temptations). Wild Target is better than Lynn's lesser films but is nowhere near as good as his best -- Clue (one of my favorite comedies of ALL TIME!). If one is not a fan of Euro-comedy, this film should be bypassed.

It can be watched and (at times) enjoyed if British humor makes you chuckle. I, for one, highly enjoy that type of humor and so Wild Target had its moments; but a few funny moments doesn't a good movie make .

It is overly rushed at times (which makes it feel messy), and at others it is oddly dull and lagging. The film is about a loner assassin Victor (Bill Nighy -- Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually, The Constant Gardener) who has a fervid devotion to his equally-as-deadly, sharpshooting, wheelchair-bound mother (Eileen Atkins - Robin Hood, Gosford Park, Cold Mountain).

Victor is hired to kill a young art-thief (Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada, Dan in Real Life, The Young Victoria) by Rupert Everett (My Best Friend's Wedding, Separate Lies, B. Monkey). His plans go awry when he finds himself drawn to her.

Through a series of unlikely events, Victor is thought to be a private detective and is hired by Blunt to protect her from other hired killers (like the amusing, dentally-altered maniac, Martin Freeman -- Hot Fuzz, Love Actually).

The thrown-together duo becomes a trio when another young man (Rupert Grint -- Harry Potter, Driving Lessons) unexpectantly enters the picture by helping the two take-out one of those hired hands. This is all rushed and hurried and it happens so swiftly one can almost forget to enjoy it.

The trio "hides-out" in Victor's country house (why assassins don't check out this location is beyond me) where the film's pace slows and we are given a liberal quantity of banter -- which is both good and bad.

Blunt is at times coy, charming and playful. I don't think her character is written in a consistent manner; but Blunt is fine in the role. Nighy plays uptight and Grint plays in-experienced, fish-out-of-water.

Even with fine performances, I feel the roles have been miscast as Blunt and Nighy play a highly-unlikely pair. Lynn's film is all over the place -- he takes aim but never gets a bullseye.