CAST: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Élodie Yung, Joaquim de Almeida, Kirsty Mitchell, Richard E. Grant

DIRECTION: Patrick Hughes

GENRE: Action

DURATION: 1 hour 58 minutes

STORY

A hitman who is scheduled to testify in court is forced to team up with one of the best bodyguards in the business to ensure he makes it to the trial. Both of them need to put their past behind them and work together to stay alive.

REVIEW

When you have two bonafide wisecracking action stars together on screen, you pretty much know what to expect – fireworks, F-bombs, explosions, more F-bombs, and bullets flying every which way.

‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ has all the right ingredients for a recipe that’s a lot of fun. Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are well equipped for the characters they play because, in some ways, they’re playing variations of themselves. In fact, it feels as if director Patrick Hughes has pretty much allowed them to improvise their scenes together, especially when they’re taking pot shots at each other.

This definitely works to a large extent, but there are times when some gags stretch on longer than they should. The same problem arises with the action sequences, that get a little tiresome after a while. In fact, the biggest issue with this film is not that it resorts to a lot of action comedy cliches – which it does. Or that it’s trying a little too hard to be edgy. But it’s mainly that it doesn’t know when to pull back. It just can’t seem to resist the temptation to go overboard. The violence seems to be in a totally different zone from the comedy, particularly the part played by Gary Oldman, who is justifiably creepy but is begging to be taken more seriously than he has to be. This creates a tonal shift which doesn’t work in the film’s favour. Especially when you have Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson doing their thing.

There are solid performances coming in from the women as well; Elodie Yung and Salma Hayek in particular, seem to be having a blast. On the technical front, there are some interesting transitions that are used to move from one sequence to the next and they make it all a lot more seamless. If only it was a tighter story – ‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ would be a crisper and much better film. But don’t let that detract you from checking this out and enjoying it for what it is – a forgettable yet fun watch at the theatre.