The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

As we continue to roll into the summer film season, not only do we get a plethora of big-budget films, but that of sequels as well. Most sequels are usually a cheap way of Hollywood capitalizing on the success of its original, but some sequels actually work--some better than the original, however "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" doesn't fall on the latter. 

The world's most lethal odd couple--bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson)--are back on another life-threatening mission. Still unlicensed and under scrutiny, Bryce is forced into action by Darius's even more volatile wife, the infamous international con artist Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek). As Bryce is driven over the edge by his two most dangerous protectees, the trio get in over their heads in a global plot and soon find that they are all that stand between Europe and a vengeful and powerful madman, Aristotle Papdopolous (Antonio Banderas). Joining in the fun and deadly mayhem is Morgan Freeman as--well, you'll have to see.

Others to round out the cast are Frank Grillo as Bobby O'Neill, Gary Oldman as Vladislav Dukhovic, Georgie Glen as ICC Lead judge, Tine Joustra as Renata Casoria, Barry Atsma as Moreno, Rebecca Front as Joanna, the therapist, Michael Gor as Livitin, Richard E. Grant as Seifert, Jonny James as Johan and Venice Smith as Gary. 

This was effectively directed by Patrick Hughes ("Red Hill" '10, "The Expendables 3" '14, "The Hitman's Bodyguard" '17) plus shorts. As with its predecessor, "The Hitman's Bodyguard", this definitely represented the same feel which is important when the same characters are reprising their roles. This filmmaker kept the action going at rapid speed--like its predecessor, so if you missed these two guys, you can pick up going along with them on their mission and feel like they never left. If you like this director's style, his "The Man from Toronto" is in post production for a 2022 release. It was written by Tom O'Connor ("Fire with Fire" '12, "The Hitman's Bodyguard" '17, "The Courier" '20), Brandon Murphy ("The Hitman's Bodyguard" '17) and Phillip Murphy ("The Hitman's Bodyguard" '17), based on a story by O'Connor which is also based on characters created by O'Connor. Whereas the original film's strong suit was the chemistry between Reynolds and Jackson, this, too, was the strong suit as well. The predecessor obtained a somewhat tighter script, mostly due to outlaying the character development so the audience could get to know them. Don't get me wrong, the original definitely kept the audience going even though there were a few flaws, but in this follow up, I believe the biggest culprit was that there were too many people and locales that the audience had to keep track of. This ensued some choppiness and inconsistencies. What made this was clearly the chemistry, not only of the two leads, but throw in Hayek's volatile character as well, and the chaos simply did add to the humor and adventure. The stunts and special effects pyrotechnics by seasoned Greg Powell and Neil Corbould respectively were amazing and added to the story. 

If you certainly liked this film's predecessor, you'll love this, but even if you simply just want to escape into a story that has action, humor all with a thrilling end, this is a nice way to spend 100 minutes, because this definitely would look better on the big screen. 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                        Rated: R                                                  100mins.