Wild Target is a funny movie that I enjoyed primarily for the dynamic between its three main characters rather than for its predictable plot. It certainly has the quirky, if not subdued, nature an American like myself expects from a UK production.
Wild Target (2010)
Genre(s): Crime, Comedy
Fox | PG13 – 98 min. – $24.98 | February 7, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Jonathan Lynn
Writer(s): Pierre Salvadori (novel); Lucinda Coxon (screenplay)
Cast: Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Rupert Everett, Martin Freeman
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Codec: AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 3.5/5
Wild Target stars Bill Nighy as Victor Maynard, one of the top paid and best assassins in the UK. He’s efficient. He’s well trained (his father before him was an assassin). He’s well prepared. He’s also lonely. Victor’s latest assignment is to kill Rose (EMILY BLUNT), a thief and con artist who has crossed one too many crooks, Ferguson (RUPERT EVERETT), after her latest scheme – selling a fake Rembrandt – comes back to bite her. While Victor follows Rose to get her routine and find the right time to complete the job, something about her fascinates him.
After trailing her to a parking garage where one of Ferguson’s henchmen is about to kill her, he takes the other guy out and sets off to protect Rose from others who will come after her, including the second best assassin (MARTIN FREEMAN). Along for the journey is Tony (RUPERT GRINT) who helped out and who Victor sees as a possible successor because of Tony’s natural grasp of the use of a gun… or something or other, not quite sure. Point is, Victor takes Tony under his wing to train as he has no children of his own to pass down his knowledge of assassinations.
The three set off escaping the crosshairs of the new assassin while bickering like a fledging family as Victor confronts his feelings for the stubborn Rose and vice versa while also dealing with Victor’s aggressive and moderately psychotic mother (EILEEN ATKINS).
Wild Target is the right title for this British-comedy… it’s all over the place. Though this is not to say it’s a bad thing. Bill Nighy, like fellow Brit Gary Oldman, can be somewhat of a chameleon playing a dastardly bastard (Pirates of the Caribbean), blood-sucking asshole (Underworld), undead SOB (Shaun of the Dead), Nazi bitch (Valkyrie) or, in this case, considerate gentleman assassin, the man gets the job done each and every time even if the movie may stink.
Along for the chase/ride, Emily Blunt handles herself well balancing being a bitch with sexiness (as only they can do in the UK), confidence and mystique not quite knowing what her angle is. She’s not unbelievably hot yet you can still see why Victor would give up his reputation to save her. That being said, and I know it’s not a new thing to see the older man get the young woman, it’s just a tad out there even by cinema standards for someone his old age to actually get the woman.
Meanwhile it’s nice to see Rupert Grint outside of the Harry Potter franchise and while he doesn’t have a whole heck lot to do, and it’s a stretch that his character would just so happen to be a natural killer, he adds some quirky comedy to an already quirky film. It’s not a particularly memorable role but good to see him slowly get out of the shadow of Ron Weasley at least.
Wild Target – based upon an obscure 1993 French film entitled Cible émouvante – was efficiently directed by Jonathan Lynn who previously helmed some half-decent comedies in the past including The Whole Nine Yards (no, he wasn’t involved with the needless and crappy sequel) and Clue as well as a personal guilty pleasure, Sgt. Bilko.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5
The only feature here is the short featurette, On Target with Emily Blunt (3:33; SD) plus trailers for Street Kings 2: Motor City, Unstoppable and Love & Other Drugs.
VIDEO – 3.75/5
Wild Target is presented with a 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and in 1080p high-definition. The transfer, from what I can tell, looks good if not a bit unremarkable. I don’t know if it’s because this was a smaller production or just the style the director chose, but it’s not a movie that will “pop” off the screen. That being said, the detail levels are pretty good with a discernable amount of film grain or noise while skin tones seem to be well balanced.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track isn’t overly aggressive, though it’s not too surprising since it is a comedy with only a minimal amount of gunfire. The movie does have some depth and dialogue is quite clear throughout and never muffled.
OVERALL – 3.25/5
Overall, Wild Target is a funny movie that I enjoyed primarily for the dynamic between its three main characters rather than for its predictable plot. It certainly has the quirky, if not subdued, nature an American like myself expects from a UK production.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 02/11/2011