CERT: 15 / PLATFORMS: CINEMA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
When Patrick Hughes’ The Hitman’s Bodyguard became an unexpected box office hit in 2017, in spite of some mixed reviews, it seemed likely that we’d see more from this throwback buddy actioner. Delivering an entertaining blast that tipped its cap to the Lethal Weapon era of action moviemaking, and which further benefited hugely from a terrific cast and their chemistry, the idea that the hitman, the bodyguard and the body count would return was not an unwelcome one. And now here we are with the possessive apostrophe heavy sequel Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and the film’s success depends largely on your own expectations going in.
If you are coming for tightly plotted or original action adventure, you may leave looking as fed up as Bruce Willis in, well, everything nowadays, but if you are coming for silly explosive fun with a group of stars having fun together, then you will likely be in for a good time at the flicks. Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard may not quite as good as the first, and many gags don’t quite bullseye it but this brilliant A-name cast and their camaraderie makes for hugely infectious viewing.
The story is hard to pin down in just a paragraph because despite running at a relatively digestible 100 minutes, this film is absolutely jam packed with sub-plots. It really is pure silliness and essentially like a lassoing of most 90s action cinema and the most ludicrous of Bond plots all in one. But the crux of the story is that Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is taking some time away after trying to make peace with moving on from body guarding, but when Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) comes calling – bringing a bullet storm along with her – Michael’s skills may be needed to help his old hitman “pal” Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) out of a spot of bother. From there we enter a whirlwind of megalomaniacs destroying European power grids, family fracas, baby hopes and even a gelato crisis. Typical stuff!
Yes it’s all very breakneck in the pacing and extremely overloaded, but hey, when a film sees a superbly sweary Salma Hayek kicking ass, alongside her favourite boys, and a villain called Aristotle Papadopoulos (Antonio Banderas), with some added cameos, you can’t help but smile can you? Clearly everyone is having fun in these parts (be they the returning cast or the new faces) and once the rather enjoyable action scenes start flowing you mostly look past the technical faults. Plus, the ending is strangely gratifying (even approaching awww territory), as is a climax that shows that many of cinema’s veterans (Jackson, Banderas, Morgan Freeman) have still darn got it.
If you bought a ticket for Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, you clearly came for a specific film here and you largely get it. Far from tidy but the cast are great (the central trio give it there all), and this sequel opts to stop worrying and just do it! And there’s something quite admirable about that. Maybe there will be a Hitman’s Second Cousin Twice Removed’s Bodyguard next…we wouldn’t complain to be fair. Fun.
