British comedies seem to have quite the ability to take serious material and run with it and make it funny. Wild Target is a great example of this as anyone in their normal mind would not think of a con artist and a hitman would be the two leads for a romantic comedy. Wild Target gives some fun moments of action that not only work but fit seamlessly into the laughs that are built in throughout the movie. It was surprising to me that in the US market as far as I know this was a straight to DVD release.
Emily Blunt is splendid in her role as Rose, a beauty, who also happens to be quite the successful con artist. Blunt continued to impress me and is really improving with each role she takes and is quickly showing that she will definitely be a big time star in Hollywood. With her versatility that she is showing in the roles she is able to play, she is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses to see, simply because she will give a solid performance.I truly enjoyed her performance as she plays a perfect balance between the fluidity of a con artist to being a free spirit that just wants to enjoy life even though her life is in danger. She brings a great quirkiness to the role that even though she is a con artist you can not help but be drawn to her.
Bill Nighy plays Victor Maynard, an uptight, laser focused hitman, with such brilliance and ease that the audience actually feels awkward watching portions of his interactions. Nighy plays the role of the epitome of a hitman to perfection. Just as one may expect he has control issues which are clearly evident as we see that his home has plastic covers over all the furniture. Yet, these control issues give us some great comedic moments such as his insistence on checking the hall outside of the hotel room to make sure it is safe for Rose to go out, even though she has already stepped out into the hall. Even as a hit man we can see that he has a great inner conflict as he becomes Rose's bodyguard protecting her even though he was originally supposed to kill her himself. Also we see that even with his success as a hitman he feels insecure about himself as we see him constantly trying to become a cultured person as he sits eating dinner while talking about what he likes about in wines not to mention he is shown time and time again listening to a learn french tape.
For me I was really intrigued to see how Rupert Grint would do outside of his role from the Harry Potter films. Grint gets thrown into having his life at risk because he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. His portrayal of Tony with his initial reluctance of what he has got himself into to then becoming Maynard's apprentice (which he believes to be a detective not a hitman) with such a smooth transition that it really surprised me to see him act as strong as he did and to be as funny of a character as he was. It was really interesting because he completed an almost family like dynamic between the three main characters. I think this dynamic was genius as this dynamic was really the most apparent when Rose cuddled him in his bed it was very motherly of her, when moments before he is believing based on what she has just said that she had feelings for him and not Maynard.
The comedic aspect of this movie was precisely what one expects from a British comedy. One of the best comedic moments happens a couple times throughout and it is one that I can never remember being used. The aspect I am talking about is the common movie phrase for payment "Half now, half later." In the movie this phrase literally means that half the payment is each bill cut in half. The plot of the buttoned-down assassin and the kooky girl along with the unwilling guy who gets thrown into danger is a vehicle that movies can hang some great lines and situations on. Rather then relying on the typical toilet humor that a lot of the American comedies use, Wild Target pulls itself onto its own two feet with situational comedy, that is nothing but true British flavor.
There is a lovely romantic chemistry between Blunt and Nighy's characters that really makes the audience care about them. Though they commit crimes, the audience can remain attached enough to laugh at their predicament, but also care about what happens to the characters as Nighy falls for Blunt and at the same time along with Grint their characters become like a family. It's also surprisingly touching in places as the transition from romance to drama to comedy is handled seamlessly blending lovely together. The story though basic is good enough and the script is structured beautifully with sharpness embedded throughout.
Wild target is a fun British comedy that will have you laughing throughout, no matter if you are a fan of the British comedy or not. Emily Blunt continued to show her star power that is beginning to brighten. The chemistry between all the characters is spot on that you actually will believe that they are the characters they are portraying. I am giving Wild Target four buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie worth renting and can be found currently in Redbox as well as on Netflix.
-The Movie Man
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