Directed by: Patrick Hughes
Written by: Tom O'Connor
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Elodie Yung
IMDb Link
A screwball action-comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel Jackson seems like a winning combination, but the experience with The Hitman's Bodyguard is muddled by stark shifts in tone and oddly placed moral quandaries.
*Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead*
Michael Bryce (Reynolds) was once one of the world's top bodyguards, but after a job ends in the death of his client, he loses his pristine status and falls in to a rut. Darius Kincaid (Jackson) is a highly skilled hitman, brought in by Interpol to act as a key witness in the trial of Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman), dictator of Belarus. When Dukhovich's men attack Kincaid's escort, Bryce is brought in by Interpol agent and ex-girlfriend Amelia Roussel (Yung), to escort Kincaid to the trial. The action plot is sometimes muddled by the dual love stories between Bryce/Roussel and Kincaid/Kincaid's wife Sonia (Salma Hayek), but the core of buddy cop-esque action-comedy is always there, with Reynolds' playing the tightly wound straight man and Jackson as the loose cannon.
The obvious thing to like about this film is the two leads. Reynolds and Jackson have both proven themselves effectively as leading men in both action and comedy, and the two of them have no problem molding their material to suit their respective styles. They're effectively playing themselves with a couple of character twists here, which works just fine because they're both extremely watchable. Most of the jokes that landed for me came from their delivery as well.
The key factor that dampened my experience with the film was some extremely strange tonal shifts that permeated several scenes and often devolved the film in to chaos. The comedy is regularly offset by extremely dark moments that are played far more seriously than what the rest of the movie is going for. A scene of somewhat awkward mix of action and comedy as Bryce calmly and efficiently protects a cocaine-addled businessman is followed by a man describing the brutal murder of his wife and child at the hands of Dukhovich. A scene of Kincaid finally giving his testimony, dashed with a few jokes to lighten the whole event, quickly jumps to an extreme terrorist act that seemingly murders innocent people. These moments didn't need to happen in order to tell the story, and combined with the difference in tone applied to these scenes they're just out of place against the attempts at silliness. Likewise, the film often slows its pace for a few moments to allow Bryce and Kincaid to talk and compare their work, sometimes going as far as to ask questions on the justice found in killing bad people, but played between chase scenes and attempts to get a laugh. The movie seemed to want to be more than just an action-comedy, and had the movie shifted more in the direction of dramatic action with the occasional comedic moment, perhaps getting a laugh purely out of situation rather than a few tired jokes, it would've been more effective.
The comedy of situation and the action do meld together perfectly, however, at a scant few points. The highlight of the movie comes after Bryce finally gives up on trying to protect Kincaid. Bryce goes to a street stall and begins complaining about everything, and Kincaid is immediately attacked by several of Dukhovich's men. Everyone else drops to the floor as the guns start firing, but Bryce immaturely attempts to ignore the sheer chaos around him and continue complaining. There's pure hilarity in seeing Bryce bitingly bitching about his life in front and centre while the action goes on behind him, watching as he grows steadily angrier at the realisation and denial that he'll have to intervene.
The Verdict: The Hitman's Bodyguard is solid action and hit-or-miss comedy. While the two leads carry their performances and interactions, the film's tonal shifts are jarring, and suggest an attempt to be more than it is, which would be more interesting if they'd actually succeeded. it's worth a watch, but not a must-see.
Rating: 5.5/10
Published August 31st, 2017
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