Hana Mullen | Staff Illustrator

On Easter Island, horses run wild, stalking paths between towering gray stone moai and leafy green grass beneath the blistering white sun. Laying in between the blades is the deceptive, wildly unpredictable, and utterly endearing CIA agent Chris, portrayed by an enrapturing John Malkovich. Yet for all of Malkovich’s charm, writer-director Martin McDonagh’s contemplative new buddy comedy film “Wild Horse Nine” never quite hits the emotional depths it strives for.

Longtime friends and agents Chris and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are in Chile for one of their many CIA-sanctioned government destabilization missions when they choose to detour to Easter Island. There, they receive pressure from their boss, MJ (Steve Buscemi), and meet two liberal Chilean students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas). 

But “Wild Horse Nine” is no spy action flick. It is instead a film deeply interested in Chris and Lee’s nuanced relationship, with almost every scene featuring just the two of them. This focus allows the film to compellingly explore the ways in which the agents care for each other and grapple with existential, mortal thoughts. Those more dramatic moments are less successful than the humor throughout the film, though.

Malkovich is utterly hilarious as Chris, delivering each line with a wit and dryness that makes everything from the gondolas of Venice to the dinosaurs’ fate in heaven thoroughly entertaining. Rockwell matches him with pitch-perfect shocked expressions and one-liners of his own, but the ease with which Maklovich elevates McDonagh’s script with floating hand gestures and casual charisma makes “Wild Horse Nine” a delightful romp.

Despite the rising action mostly revolving around comedy, the ultimate resolution is disappointing in its drift towards drama. Yet from Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh’s lively and bright earth-toned costumes to Malkovich’s hilarious delivery of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” “Wild Horse Nine” is certainly a fun night out, even if it never quite sticks the landing.