The Hitman's Bodyguard

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Gary Oldman, Elodie Yung, Richard E. Grant
Directed by: Patrick Hughes
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Thriller
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) reluctantly protects a deadly assassin (Samuel L. Jackson) who is scheduled to testify at an international criminal court.

Review:

Tim: The Hitman's Bodyguard is a decent action comedy. It all centers around the fun idea of Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson working together. These two might seem very different, but they have many similarities- they're both believable action stars, but also have impressive comedic timing. They aren't afraid to embrace the "R" rating. Their pairing is the best part of the movie and it's truly fun to watch these two interact. I had a good time in that regard. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie doesn't quite live up to the promise of its two leads.

In many ways, casting Reynolds and Jackson in these roles was brilliant. It allows both men to work in their wheelhouse. Reynolds is able to give a physical performance, but he's able to unleash displeasure and frustration at the situation. Reynolds is so good in those kinds of roles. Jackson can just be Jackson- charismatic, devil-may-care, and he gets to swear, an art which he's perfected. It's so fun to see these two actors leveraging their strengths. They are safe roles for both men, but that doesn't stop them from being effective in them. I was so excited to see Gary Oldman here, but his role felt disappointing. It was another safe role, but a fairly bland one. Oldman can play just about anyone- he's equally good at good guys and bad guys. Here, his bad guy feels too one-dimensional, too uninspired. Oldman kind of floats through the role- it's one he can play in his sleep. It was fun seeing Salma Hayek in this role- she's crass, rude, and very funny. Her character brought a good deal of levity to the film and her performance was strong. I also enjoyed seeing Elodie Yung here. I'm a big fan of her work on Netflix's "Daredevil", so it was nice seeing her get a movie role. Her performance was pretty straightforward, but that's what the movie needed.

The story itself feels secondary to the characters and the laughs. This is really where the movie lets us down. The idea of a bodyguard protecting an assassin is a good one and the movie certainly plays this up for laughs. However, the story around them felt generic and far too basic. It felt like an excuse to move the characters from one situation to the next, rather than the most important thing. I really struggle with movies where the story feels like an afterthought. At the end of the day, movies are stories- you have to place the utmost importance on the story. You might have good characters and funny moments, but the film itself needs a strong, worthwhile story. This movie doesn't have that, and so the whole thing suffers as a result.

While flawed, I still enjoyed The Hitman's Bodyguard. It feels like we get so few of these action comedies these days. Hollywood used to make a lot more of them. In that way, this felt like a fun throwback. Unfortunately, while the will to make a good movie was here, the execution fell short. I do place a lot of the blame on director Patrick Hughes- he's still relatively inexperienced (this is only his third feature film) and that showed. This should have been a good movie, but instead, it's only a decent (and forgettable) one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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