Cosmic Night Owl

The Hitman’s Bodyguard- Movie Review

Ryan Reynolds is awesome. Samuel L. Jackson is awesome. Gary Oldman as an over-the-top villain? Sounds good to me! Having them all in a chaotic action comedy is an interesting idea. But, like anything, it has the joint potential of being surprisingly great or awkwardly bad. Thankfully, neither is the case.

Directed by Patrick Hughes, the story is about a bodyguard named Michael Bryce (Reynolds) whose career is tarnished when one of his clients is killed. He is then tasked with escorting a notorious hitman (Jackson) to court to testify against a power-hungry Russian president (Oldman). Although reluctant at first, Bryce takes the job, seeing this as an opportunity to re-invigorate his status as one of the best in the business. Of course, things don’t go as planned, and hilarity ensues.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a pure popcorn movie, plain and simple. It’s the kind of movie you go see when you’ve had a long week and just want to shut off your brain, stuff your face with sweets, and have a good laugh. It’s not especially deep or complex, nor does it take itself too seriously. At the same time, however, there’s enough talent both in front of and behind the camera to help give the film its own comedic personality.

It’s clear that the film isn’t set in a form of reality. It’s definitely an action movie world, one where Samuel L. Jackson can shoot a guy from across a city, where people can emerge slowly from the cloudy aftermath of an explosion completely unharmed, and the kill count is ridiculously high. Clichéd? Yes. Did I care? Not really.

Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are effing hilarious in this. I mean actual laugh-out-loud funny. Not only do they have great chemistry, and not only is their comedic timing on point, but their physicality during the action scenes is very believable. Their characters are essentially playing exaggerated versions of themselves, but you don’t care. The reason you go to see this movie isn’t to see a three-dimensional character shoot up bad guys and get into high-speed car chases. It’s to see Jackson and Reynolds shoot up bad guys and get into high-speed car chases.

Also not to be overlooked is Elodie Yung as Amelia, Reynold’s government agent, and Salma Hayek, Jackson’s psychotic and imprisoned wife. Similar to the leads, they don’t have a ton to work with, yet they do give it their all. It’s weird seeing Gary Oldman in this because he’s so underused, and doesn’t contribute much in terms of comedy. Basically, all he has to do is speak Russian menacingly, sit in a court room, and slam a pencil into a guy’s hand. He does it all very well, don’t get me wrong. But honestly, he could have been replaced with any random actor, well-known or not, and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Besides that, there’s not much else I can say about this movie. It’s predictable, and will most likely fade from your memory after a few weeks. Though if you ever want a moment of absent-minded fun, then The Hitman’s Bodyguard is worth your money.

Cosmic Grade: 3.6 out of 5 Stars