Wild Target **½
The English remake of a French comedy is a lightweight diversion notable mostly for the cast. Bill Nighy is an assassin who’s experiencing a minor midlife crisis. He’s the best at his job but has no friends. His only human contact is his mother (Eileen Atkins) who has recently moved into an assisted living facility. He then commits the ultimate professional sin when he falls for his target, a free-spirited thief/kleptomaniac (Emily Blunt). At the same time, he meets a young parking lot attendant (Rupert Grint, from the Harry Potter movies) and takes him on as an apprentice. The bad guys, led by a Rupert Everett, are, of course, hot on their trail. Despite a fairly high body count, the tone is light and things move right along at a brisk, if predictable pace. Director Jonathan Lynn (My Cousin Vinny) knows what he’s doing and so do his stars.
(98 min. Rated PG-13 for mild violence, sexual material, language.)
