A wacky comedy about a guy who whacks people, "Wild Target" misses its mark by playing its humor too broadly against the droll charms of star Bill Nighy.

Nighy ("Pirate Radio") plays Victor, a smooth professional killer who is hired to take out a beautiful con artist who sold a fake Rembrandt to an angry tycoon (Rupert Everett).

But Victor makes the mistake of meeting the mark, Rose (Emily Blunt), a carefree kleptomaniac, and starts to fall for her.

Through contrivances too numerous to tally, Victor and Rose end up on the run, along with Tony (Rupert Grint, from the "Harry Potter" films), a stoner who becomes Victor's apprentice. Director Jonathan Lynn ("My Cousin Vinny") seems to think just having reserved British thespians talking about murder, and then screaming when the shooting starts, is inherently funny.

It's not, though Nighy's deadpan calm and Grint's goofball expressions help a bit. The lovely Blunt seems ill-suited to slapstick comedy, and she fails to strike any sparks with Nighy. Hhj

Wild Target

Opens Friday, Dec. 10, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas; rated PG-13 for violence, some sexual content and brief strong language; 98 minutes.