The Hitman's Bodyguard

"My job is to keep you out of harm's way."

"I am harm's way."

Michael Bryce (Reynolds) is a professional bodyguard.  After a high profile customer was killed while under his protection, he lost the coveted Triple-A rating.  Now he protects sleazy executives and hates his life.

Vladislav Dukhovich (Oldman), the former dictator of Belarus, is on trial for numerous crimes.  The prosecution cannot produce solid evidence of his crimes and all of their witnesses are murdered or too afraid to testify.  Their last resort is incarcerated hitman Darius Kincaid (Jackson).  He agrees to testify, in exchange for the release of his wife Sonia (Hayek), who is in a Dutch prison.  Kincaid is placed under the protection of Interpol agent Amelia Roussel (Yung).

After her team is murdered, Roussel hires Bryce to protect Kincaid.  Bryce and Kincaid hate each other, but are forced to work together to stay ahead of Dukhovich's men.  Can they make it to the trial in time?

I had no intention to see this film.  Stars Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are known for their expletive-heavy films, and putting them in the same film just felt like a recipe for extraneous cursing.  It seemed like a action/violence-heavy film with little to no substance, and I didn't need to know more.  But a friend liked the trailer and convinced me to watch... and I was pleasantly surprised.

The Good:

Reynolds and Jackson have great chemistry and the film comes alive when they are on screen together.  They have good moments on their own, but the funniest exchanges/moments happen when it's just them on the screen.  Gary Oldman is a terrific villain, evil and conniving, and gives a strong performance.  He doesn't share much screen time with the leads, but he keeps the rest of the story interesting.  Salma Hayek makes the most of her few scenes: she is memorable and funny, and you want her to be reunited with Jackson just to see what will happen next.  It is an action-comedy, and doesn't skew too far in either director.  There is plenty of action and stunt work, and it is consistently funny.

The Bad:

Entirely too much cursing.  Some gory violence.  Lots of action tropes.

Other Comments:

-The story keeps you engaged... it won't win any awards, but it there is some substance.

-I enjoyed the film, but wouldn't recommend it.  It was fine, but I don't feel the need to see it again.

-They are making a sequel, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, to be released in 2021.  Reynolds, Jackson, and Hayek are all returning, along with director Patrick Hughes.

The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017) 118 minutes

Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout

Director: Patrick Hughes

Starring: Ryan Reynolds as Michael Bryce

Samuel L. Jackson as Darius Kincaid

Gary Oldman as Vladislav Dukhovich

Salma Hayek as Sonia Kincaid

Elodie Yung as Amelia Roussel

Joaquim de Almeida as Jean Foucher