HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD:
SEQUEL HAS SOME FUNNY AND EXCITING MOMENTS, BUT IT’S MORE OF THE SAME!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4
LIONSGATE
Ryan Reynolds (National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Deadpool 1 and 2, Free Guy) and Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Shaft, Marvel Cinematic Universe) are back as bodyguard, Michael Bryce and notorious hitman, Darius Kincaid in Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, the sequel to the 2017 action-comedy smash, The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Real quick, I’ll give my thoughts on the first movie before diving into this one.
The first film while flawed, I had a very fun time with when I saw it in Summer 2017, it isn’t perfect, and you could argue that the plot is very unoriginal and repetitive. But Reynolds and Jackson’ charisma and chemistry as well as some entertaining action sequences with just the right amount of goofiness is what made The Hitman’s Bodyguard enjoyable enough for me, the perfect example of a dumb, fun action-comedy blockbuster.
Now, we have a sequel with Reynolds and Jackson reprising their roles as well as Salma Hayek (Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, Frida) as Darius’ wife, Sonia and Patrick Hughes (Red Hill, The Expendables 3, The Man from Toronto) returning to direct. I have to say, despite enjoying the first film, I had forgotten a sequel was even in development, maybe I was self-quarantined for too long during the COVID-19 pandemic or I looked at some articles around the time it was announced and didn’t think of it again until after seeing a trailer of it before Spiral.
Well, now that it’s finished and released does Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard deliver a worthy follow-up that takes the franchise anywhere new? Not really, it’s more of the same!
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard isn’t horrible, and Reynolds, Jackson, and Hayek do get some laughs, but it just feels like another sequel to a relatively successful movie that can’t justify its own existence and tries to rely mostly on what worked in its predecessor without doing anything new or interesting.
The film follows unlicensed bodyguard, Michael Bryce (Reynolds) and hitman, Darius Kincaid (Jackson) forced back into action by Darius’ even more volatile wife and infamous con artist, Sonia (Hayek). As Bryce is driven over the edge, the trio finds themselves right in the middle of a global plot and that they are all that stands between Europe and a vengeful Shipping tycoon known as Aristotle Papadopoulos (Antonio Banderas-Desperado/Once Upon a Time in Mexico, The Mask of Zorro/The Legend of Zorro, Shrek franchise).
The film also stars Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy, The Dark Knight trilogy, Wanted) as Michael Bryce Sr., Richard E. Grant (Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Gosford Park, Logan) reprising his role from the first film as Mr. Seifert, Frank Grillo (Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Purge: Anarchy/The Purge: Election Year, Kingdom) as Bobby O’Neill, Tom Hopper (Merlin, Black Sails, Game of Thrones) as Magnusson, Gabriella Wright (The Tudors, The Perfect Husband, The Transporter: Refueled) as Veronika, and Dragan Mićanović (Layer Cake, The White Countess, RocknRolla) as Vlad.
Overall, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard should entertain fans of its predecessor, but it never really goes anywhere beyond them. The plot is extremely paper thin and rehashed from several other movies (The film is even guilty of having its climax take place on a boat which is normally not a good sign when you’re doing an action movie sequel, Speed 2 and 2 Fast 2 Furious, anyone?), with that said most of the action sequences are exhilarating, a good half of the jokes land, and the chemistry between Reynolds, Jackson, and Hayek is very strong and the heart and soul of the entire film.
It isn’t a slap in the face to the original or anything like that, it’s just…there! Fans of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and Salma Hayek, and the first film in general will probably get some good laughs out of it, just don’t expect it to be like the John Wick: Chapter 2 or The Dark Knight of The Hitman’s Bodyguard, however, it is a million times better than XXX 2, that’s for sure!
My review is probably all over the place, then again, the movie is all over the place, but if you’re looking for a silly action-comedy to turn your brain off for and enjoy something dumb and ridiculous with three very charismatic actors as the leads, then this “Hitman”, “Wife”, and “Bodyguard” may be for you.
From the blog www.moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com
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