Jackson’s performance is equally one-note but on the other end of the spectrum as Darius spouts insults and verbal assaults with abandon. It’s meant to be funny on its face - look at Reynolds being mistreated! hilarious! - but it’s already tiresome by the first ten minutes. Jokes are made at his expense, he’s hit by cars for the lols, the couple abuses him for their pleasure, and he just takes it all. Reynolds keeps the snark but plays Michael as an especially passive Charlie Brown for the bulk of the film. There’s no growth, nuance, or depth here, and instead we’re given annoying characters exaggerated poorly for humorous effect - only the humor never survives the process. Add to that jokes that fall flat, an abundance of weak CG, and action that’s both repetitive and immediately forgettable, and the resulting mess is an unlikable and ugly film.Īll three main players ramp up elements of both their characters and their own personas to untenable degrees, and then they maintain it for the film’s entire running time. The three leads return, but none of them manage even an inkling of the fun they delivered their first go around. Even fans of the first film, a group of which I consider myself a member, will find themselves tested by the sequel’s incessant need for volume and cruelty. It’s no exaggeration to say that The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is one of the most aggressively obnoxious studio releases in a long, long time. A begrudging Michael goes along for the ride, but soon the argumentative trio is roped into helping stop a Greek billionaire named Aristotle (the decidedly not Greek Antonio Banderas) from damaging the European Union as revenge for economic sanctions. His tranquility is interrupted by Sonia ( Salma Hayek), Darius’ wife, who needs his help rescuing her husband from kidnappers. The former bodyguard heeds both instructions and heads off on vacation in search of peace and quiet, but neither is on the menu for his foreseeable future (or ours). Therapy isn’t really helping, but the frustrated psychiatrist does make two suggestions - refrain from killing people, and take a vacation. A sequel to 2017’s surprise hit, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, the new film takes elements that work moderately well in the first and squeezes them dry of anything resembling wit, personality, or entertainment.Ī bodyguard is nothing without his official certification, and Michael ( Ryan Reynolds) is nothing after losing his thanks to a bullet fired by his old “friend” Darius ( Samuel L. Unfortunately for all involved, from the filmmakers to the audience, not a single damn thing clicks in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
They’re usually lighter fare by their very nature, but when everything clicks the result can be magical as big laughs and thrilling action collide in an explosion of fun.
The best action/comedies fulfill a special role in the hearts of genre lovers.