Wild Target - A Movie Review

Someone has to carry on the family business.

Wild Target snuck into theaters in 2010. An undercover hitman is assigned to kill a thief. Plans don’t go as expected, leading the pair to team up. One other random person is swept up in the chaos, and now they must hide under the radar from con artists.

Wild Target is a hilarious spy film. It’s the kind of spy comedy that I like. You don’t see too many comedies like this. For the most part, Wild Targets succeeds in delivering well-paced comedy and character studies but doesn’t implement a compelling third act.

I never expected Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, and Rupert Grint to make a brilliant comedic team. Nighy is exceptional in his performance as Victor, a hitman who wants to retire. Out of the characters, he has the most depth. Because none of them expected to end up together, Victor’s deadpan reactions are priceless.

These actors have had versatile careers in acting. As for Blunt, she delivers a range of credibility in both comedy and drama. Rose does not abide by the rules and has a knack for getting herself into trouble. Nighy and Blunt had brilliant chemistry, arguing over spy dynamics. We really only needed their dynamic, but the film has to add a third person.

Rupert Grint was fresh off the Harry Potter franchise at the time of the film’s release. Although I love Grint, his character didn’t fit with this movie. Tony is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is gullible, unobservant, and easily distracted. Even Victor and Rose are unsure of how to deal with him. Tony doesn’t do anything commendable.

Even the villains have their own dynamic. Rupert Everett, Martin Freeman, Gregor Fisher, and Geoff Bell worked well together. For fans of the British series Doc Martin, Eileen Atkins plays Victor’s mother. She is unsatisfied that he wants a career change. Atkins is hilarious and even replicated a nod to a famous mother in a Hitchcock film.

You have to see this film to believe the comedy. It gave the film unexpected twists. Was any of this dialogue improvised? Less than one minute in, the comedy starts. It incites prompt comedic timing that spy films need. Wild Target is the type of comedy you can get away with.

For example, I’ll talk about the beginning. As Victor spies on Rose, he accidentally shoots another person by mistake. As he scurries to find Rose again, the killing opportunities aren’t surmiseable. And then he listens to her night of erotic festivities. Yeah, there was no need to take the film seriously at this point.

Wild Target had a smart writer’s team who knew what they were doing. They actually have conversations about how they feel about killing people. Jonathan Lynn’s direction is fantastic. He let his actors go with what felt natural. The witty dialogue and clever situational comedy keep the audience engaged.

The third act takes a different approach. Now that the trio is undercover in Victor’s house, it focuses on the dynamics, bickering, and an unexpected romance. The sudden romance between two characters was unnecessary and didn’t make sense.

It completely shifts from the spy storyline. I like the film up to this point. It feels like a different film’s conclusion. Writers must have lost themselves and just decided to toss in any idea that came about.

You have to check out Wild Target on Prime. The film's humorous take on the spy genre, with its exaggerated characters and unlikely scenarios, provides a refreshing and entertaining experience.