What would happen if a bodyguard had to protect a criminal hitman from dying? What if the bodyguard was quirky like the comic anti-hero Deadpool and the hitman like the cool Nick Fury? “The Hitmans Bodyguard,” directed by Patrick Hughes, answers these questions and more as it takes the audience on both an action filled and comically hilarious ride along with these two opposites.
The story begins with bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynold) whose career credit has plummeted from professional to small clients due to a slip up of one in the past. He is then called from his former ex-girlfriend, Agent Roussel (Elodie Yung), who, after a failed transport, is stuck in a position where she needs him to transport her client. He arrives only to find that the client he agreed to protect is the notorious criminal hitman, Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson). Darius is being transported to the International Court of Justice as a witness to the cruel acts of the bloodthirsty dictator of Belarus, Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman), who is currently being held trial for crime against humanity. Darius has agreed to testify against Vladislav with evidence only if his wife Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) is let out of prison. Now Michael must keep the both of them alive as they make their way to the International Court of Justice with both the government and hitmen hired by Vladislav on their tail. Will the two survive if they don’t kill each other on the way there?
The main story plot of this film isn’t anything special and is essentially another journey story. However, the action sequences and comedy in the film make up for the lack of originality as they are shot and executed brilliantly. Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynold are the main reason why this film works in that the chemistry between the two of them is brilliant. Both actors have a good grasp on the fast paced comedy and it looks like they are just having fun with this film.
This film has a few issues, one of which being the introduction. The intro to the main plot drags to the point where the comedy doesn’t even start until a quarter into the movie. Michael is what drives the comedy along with many funny lines and sarcastic replies. But sadly, for a decent sized chunk of the movie, he is off somewhere else while it focuses on introducing Darius who is more serious and action filled. This chunk might make the audience think they didn’t pay for a comedy because for a short while the film lacks of comedic elements. Another issue is the soundtrack of the film, it is forgettable and is normally drowned out by all the bullet fire from the many action scenes. While this isn’t a much needed part for this kind of movie, a few more popular songs in segments might have pumped the audience up more. The last issue is the time length of the film. With it being almost a full two hours long, there are segments of the flick that feel like they didn’t need to be there to save runtime.
“The Hitmans Bodyguard” is a good movie to just enjoy for the comedy and action. While it isn’t a masterpiece it is still a fun flick to enjoy. It isn’t a movie to take anyone under 18 as there is a lot of foul language and gory imagery. This film gets a score of 3.5/5.
