Bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and Hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) and Darius Kincaid’s wife (Salma Hayek) are all back together again in the sequel to 2017’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard.
Has it really been four-years since the summer of 17? Yes, it has. Could we have waited an additional four-years (or even forty-years) for this film? Yeah, I think we could have made it. Nevertheless, the Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard has several big laughs, a few surprises, and is even slightly better than the original film.
In fact, if Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard had just had less “Hitman” it would have been a substantially better film. Jackson’s mother-effing shtick is really starting to show its age, while on the other hand Salma Hayek and Ryan Reynolds had great and often hilarious chemistry together and I’d watch a movie with just them in it anytime.
The story? Just like the first movie, there is not much to it. It’s basically a seventies-styled James Bond script, but with Antonio Banderas sleep-walking his way through the role of the stereotypical globe-trotting villain. It’s all just an excuse to set-up violent (but mostly humorous) action-sequences.
Morgan Freeman makes an appearance in a fun and amusing role (no spoilers here); and Frank Grillo plays a mostly a worthless part as a corrupt Interpol agent (or something of that sort.) Again, the fun interaction between Reynolds and Hayek saves this movie from being a disaster.
This sequel is directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Tom O’Connor, the same team that made the first film. Brandon Murphy and Phillip Murphy are also listed within writing credits. If you enjoyed the original movie then you are going to be more than satisfied with this latest effort. If you are a Hitman’s newcomer there are plenty of laughs to be had, and in this day and age that counts for a lot (just be prepared for the violence and crude language as well.)
