Wild Target

I ended up seeing this title in one of those frustrating moments where my main choice of feature was either on at the wrong time, had not even been released yet or my friends just flatly did not want to see the same things as I, and so we ended up going to Wild Target as an inoffensive compromise. I was expecting it to be real cheesy and void of humour, especially after having seen the trailer. I was pleasantly surprised!

Okay, when one goes to the cinema with such low expectations, they can only but move in one direction, but nevertheless I have to commend the movie on several points. I thought all the one-liners would have been used up in the trailer (and those that I had seen had seemed tacky at best) but I guess the movie isn't about one-liners. Rather then relying on half cocked jokes, it pulls itself onto its own two feet using situational comedy, which gives it a real British flavour. I heard it compared to the humour of the old Earling Studio movies, which seems like a nice comparison. Actually, on doing a little research, I found that the original story came from a French movie (Cible émouvante, 1993). It's easy to tell from the zany characters, offbeat humour and introspective look on life that it was originally French in theme, but as a story it translates nicely onto a typically British backdrop.

Basically Victor Maynard, a cold hearted hit-man played by Bill Nighy (great performance as always - he's legend!) is a middle aged unmarried killing professional who is beginning to loose his touch. This becomes no more obvious when he fails to make a hit on the sensually beautiful Rose (Emily Blunt). Things start to get complicated for Victor when he finds, not only has he lost the killer instinct, but he also starts protecting her from the men sent to finish the job.

I'm not sure about the Rupert Grint character of Tony. He seems the most out of place in my opinion. I suppose Tony was added to feed in a further dynamic between Victor and Rose and their growing relationship, but for me, this relationship triangle was either not developed fully or just failed outright. Maybe it held more credence in the original French story, but in the English version at least, Tony really does feel like the spare tire as his presence seems unnecessary and the character's attributes hammy. By far the weakest link the movie.

Quirky and light hearted; it may only be a lighter shade of grey rather then a full blown black comedy (12A Cert in Ireland), but still a pleasant surprise if you come to stumble upon it.

For those who haven't seen Ciblé Émovante from 1993 do. But Wild Target is seriously a tremendous remake.

Very very funny and just plain good fun - this harks back to the golden age of British comedies, sidesteps (in the main) Guy Ritchie and goes for that same vibe that Shooting Fish had.

The plot of the buttoned-down assassin and the kooky girl and the guy who gets involved by mistake is a vehicle to hang some great lines and situations on; let's just say it involves art forgery, hired guns, kleptomania, and Snowy the Cat. Brilliant stuff. Bill Nighy does his usual comic timing to perfection and he and Emily Blunt, along with the two Ruperts, Grint and Everett, bring a real sense of fun to this. Well supported and very well directed there's not much to complain about here - it's just a great comedy and taken as that you could do much worse.

Honestly, we haven't laughed or just flat out enjoyed a film this much in a long time - it's got a wonderful vibe to it that just makes watching it fun - and after all it's nice to get back to some good old fashioned killing without all the pizazz....

Highly recommended if you like British comedies, do try to get to see the french original, it's a corker, but this, this one is going in my collection....

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and thought it was very entertaining. True, there were only a few laugh-out-loud moments, but it kept me chuckling away for most of the 90-odd minutes. I thought Bill Nighy's performance was spot-on and Eileen Atkins' role gave her plenty of scope for comedy moments. Rupert Everett and Gregor Fisher worked well together, and Martin Freeman was very good as Dixon. Although the plot was simple, the film was reminiscent of a lot of British comedies from the Sixties and Seventies, which was probably why I enjoyed it so much. It was also good to see something that wasn't shot in America and didn't follow the stereotypical plot lines that most American films seem to have as a matter of course.

This movie was pretty cool.

It had all the stuff that a movie needs to be interesting; action, humor, love and thrills. And it all came together in a very good way to make for a superb movie experience.

The story was good and very easy to follow, straight forward, though there were no twists and odd turns of events, which could have made the movie a bit more interesting. But the movie was far from being boring, despite it having a rather one-simple-way plot line. The story was very likable and compelling.

As for the characters, well Bill Nighy was amazing as the lead role, portraying the somewhat eccentric hit-man Victor Maynard. There is something very charismatic about that man, and he was so well cast for this particular role. Moving on to Emily Blunt, in the role of Rose, well she did a good job as well, really bringing her on-the-edge character to life. However, Rupert Grint in the role of Tony, that was the bomb! He was such a blast in this movie, and it was fantastic to see him in a mature role, stepping out of the wizardly shoes of the "Harry Potter" stuff. And it was really good to see the way the characters were given the time and effort to evolve throughout the movie, growing and making you relate to them. Few movies really get around this in a good way, but "Wild Target" managed to do that quite well.

For some reason this movie was more than just your average run of the mill action comedy. The way the characters were portrayed and how they came to life on the screen makes you really feel like you are right there in there with them. And that is really the strongest link of the movie.

There were some funny scenes and moments throughout the movie as well, though not the kind that will make you fall out of your seat with tears trickling down your cheeks. But the comedy in the movie is just subtle enough to be appropriate, without making the movie come off as trying too hard.

"Wild Target" is a movie that you should watch, especially if you enjoy British movies. Thumbs way up for this movie.

It is incredibly refreshing in this day and age to come across a comedy that doesn't rely on bathroom/sex humor, dropping curse words or stupid humor for laughs but actually presents an intelligent, smart, witty film with a great premise and even better character dynamic.

Wild Target is a clean cut, hysterical movie that is about an accomplished hit-man (Bill Nighy) who has been hired to take out a beautiful con-woman after she's outed for an art scam (Emily Blunt) but ends up becoming her protector instead. Rupert Grint plays the lovable role of Tony who ends up getting caught in the hijinks when he's in the wrong place at the right time - the dynamic between the 3 lead characters (played by Blunt, Nighy & Grint) is nothing short of entertainment. They become a sort of pseudo family unit that provides adorable moments and of course, laughs.

Eileen Atkins plays the hit-man's (Nighy)supportive mother who is proud of all the people her son has killed. Afterall, he was just following in his Father's (her husband's) footsteps and expects her son to produce a child that will take over the family business.

Martin Freeman plays the new hit-man hired to take out Blunt's character once Nighy, the original hit-man, becomes her protector and botches the job.

This movie is a great film that offers up genuine comedy throughout its entirety. My only gripe is that it was just an hour and a half long because I could have easily watched the 3 leads interact for another hour.

9/10 & I recommend this film to anyone who wants a good laugh and a smart movie.