Yet, many of the action sequences lack impact, as there’s almost too much going on. It’s an old-fashioned buddy-movie in this regard, and to Hughes’s credit, it’s loaded with carnage and never boring.

One minute they’re literally ready to murder each other, the next they’re totally bro’ing out and bonding over their rising body count. Reynolds seems happy to take a backseat to Jackson, and their chemistry works, even though they seemingly become best friends out of nowhere. A particular favorite of mine is when he tells an Interpol agent ( Elodie Yung) that rather than wasting manpower protecting him, they should just give him a car and a couple of guns and meet him at the tribunal where Oldman’s being tried in a few days. He makes for a dynamic action hero, reminiscent a bit of Charles Bronson in his later years, with him believably tough, but also having a way with a good line. In fact, the emphasis is really placed on Jackson throughout, which works as he’s got the arc, with him seemingly only testifying to free his wife ( Salma Hayek) from prison, although in the end he has his own motivations for wanting to get Oldman. By now, Reynolds can play this role in his sleep, but he’s given a good foil in Samuel L. One second it’s TRUE MEMOIRS OF AN INTERNATIONAL ASSASIN, the next it’s an Oliver Stone movie.Īll this adds up to a really uneven actioner, although the genuine chemistry between the two stars ultimately makes it worth watching.

This vibe is evident within the first five minutes, where, in a sitcom-y, straight-ahead comedy sequence, we follow Reynolds on a typical assignment (complete with a lighthearted comic score by Atli Örvarsson), only to be immediately followed by a brutal sequence where Gary Oldman murders a mother and her child. The result is a widely schizophrenic actioner. That movie’s impact can be felt here, with this having been inflated to A-status, giving Reynolds his first post-DEADPOOL actioner, with everything thrown-in but the kitchen sink to guarantee its success.Īll that said, THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD would have fared better if it had been scaled down, as the influence of DEADPOOL is too keenly felt at times, with director Patrick Hughes (THE EXPENDABLES 3) not able to juggle the comedy and carnage as well as Tim Miller. REVIEW: Once upon a time, THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD would have been a modest programmer, in-line with many of the genre-focused movies produced by Millennium Films, but shortly after star Ryan Reynolds signed on the dotted line, DEADPOOL became a massive worldwide hit. Jackson), when the latter comes forward with evidence that could end a brutal dictator’s ( Gary Oldman) reign of terror. PLOT: The world’s top bodyguard ( Ryan Reynolds) is blackmailed into protecting his worst enemy, the world’s greatest assassin ( Samuel L.

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