Quickcard Review
Wild Target
Directed by: Jonathan Lynn Cast: Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint Running Time: 1 hour 40 min Rating: PG-13 Release Date: February 4, 2011
PLOT: A staid, middle-aged hitman (Nighy) is hired to assassinate a young woman who sold a counterfeit painting to the wrong person (Rupert Everett). When he saves Rose (Blunt) instead of killing her, the two, along with a helpful bystander (Grint), go underground in an attempt to save themselves.
WHO'S IT FOR? Huge Bill Nighy fans. Those who like comedies about death.
OVERALL
I was kind of excited for this one, I really like Nighy and the combination of him and Blunt and Grint sounded promising. The premise is good too, if a little weird. A hitman from a long line of assassins has a well-ordered life. You can tell because he keeps plastic covers on all his furniture. (Note: This happens in movies all the time but I have NEVER seen a real person do this.) So when he saves the free-spirited-to-the-point-of-crazy Rose, when he was supposed to kill her instead, you know his life will change. Unfortunately, the two actors don't have great chemistry. The idea that they would fall in love really stretches credulity. No, I didn't give anything away, it's pretty clear early on that's where the movie is heading.
Some of the supporting characters are more interesting. Grint plays a young man with the talent to be an assassin though not necessarily the stomach for it. It's nice to see him outside the Harry Potter films, I think he could have a promising career ahead of him. Martin Freeman, best known as Tim from the UK version of The Office, plays an a-typical role as a competitive hitman and seems to actually be having fun. Unfortunately, he may be the only one.
The film is bright in spots but it doesn't really gel. Blunt and Nighy have more of a father daughter chemistry than a romantic one. Though he seems to care for her, they don't seem attracted. His relationship with Grint has more spark, as a potential protege whether he wants to be or not. The script doesn't help, it doesn't know whether it wants to be a farce or a drama. In the end I was just waiting for the inevitable final showdown so we could wrap everything up. I pretty much left the film with nothing to show for it.
FINAL SCORE: 5/10