'Wild Target' review

Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt (Credit: Freestyle)

54-year-old assassin Victor Maynard (Bill Nighy) has a difficult time pulling the trigger on his latest target, art forger Rose (Emily Blunt). So instead of killing her, he becomes her bodyguard, and enlists an unlikely apprentice (Rupert Grint) in an attempt to evade the businessman (Rupert Everett) who ordered the hit, a rival assassin (Martin Freeman) and Victor’s own disappointed mother (Eileen Atkins).

The verdict: A promising combination of talented actors with strong comedic chops can’t do anything to redeem this lifeless dud. Even with Nighy’s deadpan fussiness, Blunt’s playful sex appeal and Grint’s endearing naiveté, the regrettably mild “Wild Target” misses every mark. Nothing clicks—jokes fall flat, characters fail to connect with the audience or each other, and the plot lurches along without gaining momentum or building any suspense or interest. Director Jonathan Lynn already made one assassin comedy with the hit-and-miss “The Whole Nine Yards.” Consider this the lazy encore no one asked for.

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