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Off "Target"

The biggest boon granted for the reputation of the British Male in the last half century was to put Scottish born Sean Connery in for the role of James Bond. Connery's 007 flaunted his masculinity, ogled women, hairy chest and all. Every martini, every cigarette, an act of defiance. He was a beast. Women wanted him, men wanted to be him.

Victor Maynard, on the other hand, is uptight, stuffy, and until recently, was living with his mother (Eileen Atkins) who wonders whether or not her loyal son is in the closet. Still, he's an assassin at the top of his profession. Wonderfully played by esteemed actor Bill Nighy (the rocker in "Love Actually", the octopus-faced villain in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels) Victor is the one you would want to hire for a hit, not Bond. Quiet, efficient, with a sterling reputation...

That is, until he fails to assassinate his latest target Rose (Emily Blunt), a free spirited klepto who cons an art-loving gangster (Rupert Everett) with a forged Rembrandt. Instead, Victor becomes Rose's protector, as Everett sends his own cronies and some more sadistic hitmen after the duo.

It's not hard to imagine what happens next, and "Wild Target", based on the 1993 French farce "Cible Emouvante", is pure formula - a formula enhanced with game performances from Nighy and Blunt, along with Rupert Grint, (the red head from "Harry Potter"!) doing a nice take on the fuzzy stoner who comes along for the ride.

Comedies with body counts are difficult to pull off, and in some measure "Wild Target" succeeds, but it lacks the outright zaniness and spark of "A Fish Called Wanda", for example. A Benny Hill-ish car chase staged by British director Jonathan Lynn ("My Couisin Vinny", "The Whole Nine Yards") through London's financial district falls flat, as do one or two other larger set-pieces; it's the quieter moments that make this film work - the nonchalant way Rose strides through the market, stealing a purse, snagging flowers; Victor's using a garrote wire on his wrist watch to cut the roast beef - if the film managed to work more of that observational charm into the script instead of hamhocked montages with music cues from Feist (there should be a rule: once a song is in an iPod commercial, that's it, it's done), I would give it a higher recommendation. Still, it's a suitable rental, and a perfect airplane movie - easy, charming and no reason to pause when the attendant offers you the complementary drink.