Wild Target - Harmless hitman fun

There have been plenty of films about hitmen and the subject matter is hardly ripe to be turned into 'comedy gold,' but 'Wild Target' seems to have found the right approach with its whimsical and frothy take on the genre.

The always-watchable Bill Nighy plays a hitman who's been in the profession a while and whose mother is getting worried that he's not going to produce an heir to carry on their dubious family profession.  Then, when he's given the task of 'despatching' an art thief played by Emily Blunt, he finds it's a job that's harder than he first thought.

It sort of turns into an 'odd couple' kind of film (only with three people - I forgot to mention that not only does Nighy find himself protecting the woman he's supposed to be killing, but also Rupert Grint, who plays a local drifter who happens to get in the way when he's forced to change his plans).  Nighy is formal and reserved, Blunt is loud and - er - blunt (and Grint just looks confused and adds a touch of humour here and there).  Rupert Everett and Martin Freeman are also on the cast list and the gangster and rival hitman, however their input are more like extended cameos and they're hardly given much screen time to really show what they're capable of.

The characters are simple and hardy deep, but they interact well and, although you'll probably successfully predict every plot point that comes, it's definitely worth a watch if you're looking for something easy going with some touching moments dotted in and around some very dark humour and subject matter.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that