The Hitman's Bodyguard
(2017)It's not the size that matters... It's how you use it.
Ryan Reynolds is a bodyguard who takes on a hit man (Samuel L. Jackson) as a client in this buddy action-comedy from the director of The Expendables 3. Co-stars Gary Oldman and Salma Hayek.... More
The world's top bodyguard (Reynolds) gets a new client (Jackson), a hit man who must testify at the International Court of Justice. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.Hide
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Directed by Patrick Hughes ('The Expendables 3', 'Red Hill')
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung, Richard E. Grant, Kirsty Mitchell
Written by Tom O'Connor
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The Hitman's Bodyguard
BY VaughanP nobody
It was entertaining, nothing you're going to make a life altering decision over but a fun action flick with that trademark Reynolds humour and Sam Jackson doing as he does best Mother F**kers.
BY adamatdramatrain superstar
The same goes for its treatment of women, which might have been acceptable in 1970s Chuck Bronson flicks, but today smacks of a script either aimed squarely at, or maybe even written by, a horny, 14-year-old action-junkie.
Okay, so putting aside my snooty reviewer hat, and accepting this as a JOHN WICK style fantasy, only with DEADPOOL wisecracks, it’s okay. Nothing more.
Samuel L. Jackson plays an “unkillable” assassin, who speaks and sounds like, well, pretty much every generic Samuel L. Jackson role outside of his Tarantino turns. Sam winds up being protected by Ryan Reynolds, playing Deadpool, only without the costume. He’s basically the bodyguard with the backchat, instead of the merc with a mouth. The two start enemies but before you can say LETHAL WEAPON, they’re best buds.
The action is well handled, but every action beat you’ve seen before if you’re an action movie fan, and worse still every plot twist is so obvious, you can literally spot the double-crosser as soon as they’re on camera.
The best parts of the movie are Richard E. Grant in a minor role as a coked-up lawyer, going full WITHNAIL & I, and the wonderful Salma Hayek as Jackson’s tough as nails wife. Her scenes are all too brief, but she lights up the screen every time, displaying uncanny comic chops.
It would all be so much forgivable action fluff if it wasn’t for the cinematic sin of casting Gary Oldman as the big bad guy and then utterly failing to make the most of him. Here’s Gary, doing the same role basically as he played so memorably up against Harrison Ford in AIR FORCE ONE, and it’s about as memorable as a wet weekend in Palmerston North.
Yeah, it was fun. The snappy dialogue, the action set pieces, seeing Deadpool and Jules from PULP FICTION hang out in London and Amsterdam, but honestly? I saw the movie barely an hour ago and I can barely remember a thing. Except how they wasted Gary, and that’s a crime against cinema hard to forgive.
Still, if you’re getting antsy awaiting DEADPOOL 2 – you’ll love it. Think DEADPOOL, only in a suit and babysitting Sam Jackson.
But whatever you do, please remember, it may look like the world we inhabit, but it’s just a macho fantasy. Forget that and you’re in for a damn disturbing and downright disheartening time.Hide
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The Press Reviews
The picture feels far more generic than its A-list cast would suggest. Full Review
"The Htiman's Bodyguard" ... is not a good movie, but, in fairness, it doesn't try to be. Full Review
Reynolds and Jackson make this summer lunacy go down easy with their banter and bullet-dodging skills. They're the only reason this R-rated action comedy doesn't sink into the generic quicksand from whence it came. Full Review
'The Hitman's Bodyguard' is not exactly killing it, but coasts on the charisma of its central stars. Full Review
A delightfully ridiculous screwball action comedy. Full Review
The whole film feels slightly grubby and low-res, like it's been languishing in private mode on the filmmakers' pre-HD YouTube page since 2008. Full Review
...we’re never more than a few minutes away from a quip or a kill. Full Review
BY Daniel Rutledge Flicks Writer
Two renegade, maverick, lovable rogue types must overcome the urge to kill each other in order to kill a bunch of dudes, all in order to stop some other people being killed and ensure a bad guy is brought to justice for killing heaps of people. Oh, and they've both got to win back their better halves in the process, too.... More
It's a remarkably familiar set-up, but enjoyably so - nobody is going to see a movie like this for an original plot and, to be honest, I wish there was more of this sort of thing being made.
Action-wise, The Hitman's Bodyguard is certainly not giving John Wick or The Raid a run for their money, but there's a lot of inventiveness and a nice rhythm to the unrelenting mayhem that means it's consistently entertaining. It's more in the comedy bits, the scenes without explosions and gunfights, that things can be a little ho-hum.
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are both great, but aren't great together. They both look to be enjoying the shit out of themselves and are endearing enough, but they lack the magical chemistry that makes some buddy action movies so beloved. Salma Hayek doesn't have many scenes to work with, but has more fun than anyone else in the movie with her amazingly foul-mouthed role that called to mind Susie from Curb Your Enthusiasm. Special mention must also be made for using Lionel Richie's 'Hello' during a ridiculously violent bar fight, a truly inspired song placement.
What I like most about The Hitman's Bodyguard is that it's a reasonably back-to-basics, R-rated flick that's come entirely from a screenwriter's mind rather than some pre-existing intellectual property. It's a refreshingly bog-standard buddy action-comedy that's engaging throughout, even when it's dropping the ball.Hide
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