- Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung
- Director: Patrick Hughes
- Disc Format: AC-3, Color, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: Spanish
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: R
- Studio: LIONSGATE
- Release Date: November 21, 2017
- Run Time: 118 minutes
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is the McDonald’s
of buddy action comedies. Nearly every entry into the genre is likely to be
considered ‘junk food’ entertainment, but this is about as cheap as it gets
while still remaining popular. It is lazy, lacks and substance, and feels
derivative of something that was once innovative, but millions will continue to
consume it without thought. And maybe that is the point, but I found myself
craving for dialogue that wasn’t funny merely for the choice of expletives
sprinkled around like a sophomoric game of ad libs. Not only a decent dose of
action in the third act was enough to save this film from leaving me feeling
unsatisfied.
With a rarely
funny screenplay that offers few twists in a straightforward narrative, nearly
all of the enjoyable elements of The
Hitman’s Bodyguard are dependant upon casting. With the increased fame
brought by fanboy praise of his depiction of Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds brings his
signature sardonic sense of humor to the role of Michael Bryce, a successful
bodyguard whose career is ruined by a failed job. When Bryce’s ex-girlfriend
(Elodie Yung) is betrayed by a double agent working in Interpol, she calls him
to help transport an important witness to testify at the International Criminal
Court in order to take down an evil dictator (Gary Oldman). The only problem is
that this witness is Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), a hit-man who has had
several run-ins with Bryce while on the job.
The humor from
the film comes entirely from Jackson
being given the freedom to say the F-word as often as he wants, while Reynolds
sits beside him providing the sarcastic retorts. Unfortunately, the
screenwriters seem to feel that this is enough, rarely giving the material any
depth or nuance. The dialogue is occasionally funny, but it is never clever. The
action fares slightly better, often lacing the violence with just enough
slapstick to lighten it up. I would even go so far as to call the action almost
clever, which makes the laziness of the plot and dialogue that much more
disappointing.
Generic as it
may be, there is one guarantee in watching this film; fans of the cast will get
what they expect. Everyone is type cast to the point of complete
predictability, with the possible exception of Salma Hayek, who competes for
the foulest mouth in her role as Kincaid’s wife. Reynolds is sarcastic, Jackson is loud and
profane, and Oldman gives another chameleonic performance as a Russian villain.
It isn’t original or innovative in any way, but provides a mediocre duplicate
of a better product.
The Blu-ray
combo pack comes with a DVD and a Digital HD copy included, along with a ton of
exclusive extras. There are a few special features included on both discs,
including a making-of featurette and the director’s commentary, but a majority
of the extras are only on the Blu-ray disc. There is plenty of extra footage,
in the form of outtakes as well as deleted/extended/alternate scenes, which
also show the level of contribution the cast made to the written script. There
are also three additional promotional featurettes included.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Special Features: 7.5/10
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