Wild Target (2010)
Isle of Man Film / Matador Pictures / Cinema Four : Entertainment One / Paramount Home Entertainment / Vue Entertainment
6/10
This film should have been great... but it isn't.
The beginning is brilliant, well written, directed, and acted. The laughs come at a steady pace - slapstick, visual, and spoken - every type of comedy is catered for in the first half of the film. I was so happy I'd decided to watch this film...
...then the middle section came and everything fell apart.
Actors can only carry the weight of the project so much, they are reliant on good writing and direction. I don't know what exactly happened while shooting the film but as soon as our merry band of miscreants take shelter at the assassin's home the change is so visible. All the comedic elements dry up, the writing gets weaker, and the direction becomes sloppy. It's as if they'd changed crew.
That said Bill Nighy, playing Victor Maynard does a great portrayal of a man alone and detached from the rest of the world. He is single minded and guided in his ambition to remain as the greatest assassin in the world, just like his father before him. Emily Blunt is splendid as the con-woman and thief, Rose. The scene where Victor follows her is truly brilliant and worth watching. She is very savvy and street-wise and could talk herself out of any situation and possibly sell ice to an Inuit. Rupert Grint is the bumbling "Ordinary Joe" who gets caught up in the couples twists and turns; and love the idea of becoming the "assassins apprentice".
The only other reason I can give for the debarkle is that the original French script, "Cible EmouVante" didn't translate as well as it should and each country has its own kind of humour; what works in France doesn't always work here in England.
If it's on telly and the weather outside is dreadful then you could do worse than watching this. Who knows you may even enjoy it in its entirety.
