The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
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Critics Consensus: An ineptly staged farce that dishonors the original film and squanders the comedic potential of its fine actors.
Critic Consensus: An ineptly staged farce that dishonors the original film and squanders the comedic potential of its fine actors.
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (37) | DVD (1)
A few tart, amusing lines echo the fabled Kind Hearts and Coronets, yet this British movie based on a French farce falls into morbid silliness.
The film has to fly by its wits -- and its witty lines -- and by the charm of its stars. This it does, just barely.
It's never a good idea to cast Bill Nighy as a buttoned-down hit man.
Practically a text book in how ugly things can get when you don't have the right, light touch for this sort of thing.
There have been a lot of black comedies about assassins lately -- there have been a few just this year -- but Wild Target may be the first one to contain genuine laughs.
An eccentric little comic thriller filled with enough laughs that I was mostly willing to overlook the fact that it makes virtually no sense as a thriller.
Two delightful stars nudge Wild Target into sleeper territory - but only by a few inches.
...mindless entertainment in a refined style.
"Wild Target" bears all the hallmarks of [director Jonathan] Lynn's best films, despite being, even at a tidy 90 minutes, a bit too long.
Wild Target is the sort of madcap comedy that breaks a sweat trying to generate a steady stream of laughs, but ... the film only works in fits and starts.
"Wild Target" has fast, quippy dialogue and exactly the right actors to drive it home.
When the various elements all fizzle, all we're left with is some likable actors trying their best to save a fading film.
Bill Nighy can do no wrong, and Rupert Grint shows he can survive outside the HP franchise.
Super Reviewer
Started off okay and then went downhill fast. Was it meant to be funny? It wasn't. Stupid characters and boring storyline. The star is for Emily Blunt and her outfits. I switched it off 40 minutes in. I get the impression she was heading for a romance with the 52 year old hitman, which gives me the creeps.
A hit man falls for his target, a charming kleptomaniac, and agrees to protect her from the mobster who hired him. There isn't much to this film, but it's fun to watch Bill Nighy, who can make reading the phone book interesting. I also liked Martin Freeman who shows off a set of fake teeth like a badge of honor. Overall, don't go to this film if you're seeking substance or good adventure sequences, but if you're a fan of Nighy, then you'll be relatively satisfied.
Think 'A Fish Called Wanda' and 'Clockwise' and you have an idea of how this quirky little British film plays out. Bill Nighy is against cast as a ageing hitman who looks after his also ageing mother whilst doing his daily job of taking people out. It sounds hilarious on paper and is a fun film, its just not quite as sharp as you might hope for. Nighy of course is the best thing in the film as the stiff upper lipped, tight assed gentleman hitman, a kind of 'Basil Fawlty' hitman who frowns upon anything modern or unusual in his world. The rest of the cast are a jumbled mix of British character actors who add spice to the plot but not quite as much as Nighy. Freeman as the other hired assassin on the job is surprisingly eerie with his bleached teeth and slick hair, his partner in crime is Geoff Bell who always plays the scary hardman but parodies this beautifully here. Both are a great team up for this film and compliment Nighy so well, the other cast members do the job but nothing to rave about, Everett doesn't quite fit his role as head gangster if you ask me whilst Grint can't shake his 'Potter' background I'm afraid. There isn't anything particularly original here, the hitman thing has been done to death but mixing it with an anal stuffy ageing British aristocratic business man type is a neat little idea. There isn't a great deal more on offer other than that small concept, the rest of the humour is average and the film does lull towards the end, the final idea of the two leads getting married and having a kid is rather icky frankly haha age gap much? A nice entertaining black comedy which would have been perfect for John Cleese many years ago but Nighy is still good fare and still flies the flag for Britain just fine.
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