Review: Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Is Stupidly Entertaining

Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is the follow up to 2017 action flick, The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Directed once again by Patrick Hughes, this sequel kicks off with Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) on sabbatical after losing his bodyguard license due to the event’s of the previous film. Deciding he needs a break he heads to Italy and what should have been a nice and relaxing trip turns into a complete nightmare when Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek), in all her screaming glory, interrupts his trip. She needs his help tracking down her husband, Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), who has been kidnapped by the mob. Little does the trio know that something even more sinister is in the works.

The nice part about this sequel is the film doesn’t waste any time building up the dynamic between Kincaid and Bryce. Most of the developing details were already established in the first flick allowing viewers to jump right back in. This allowed screenwriter, Tom O’Connor and Brandon and Phillip Murphy to jump right into the action within the first five minutes. The plot is set up, characters are introduced, and off the audience goes on one outrageously over the top ride.

Even with that leg up, the film still feels tired when it all ends. If the guns are not blazing, cars are not chasing, and the lead trio isn’t bantering, the film isn’t moving along. The pace slows immensely, and viewers are quickly reminded that what they just watched was ridiculously absurd. The film is relatively short so these moments of recognizing the film’s absurdity are few.

Hayek, Jackson, and Reynolds are an unlikely comedic trio that actually work well together. Jackson and Reynolds’ chemistry carries over from the first film and Hayek fits in perfectly. Nothing seems forced between the trio and the pace never slows, which can sometimes happen when a third joins an established duo. Hayek’s addition was seamless. The film does Hayek a disservice as her character spends 75% of the film screaming obscenities, but to be fair, this film really does not call for a more grounded performance.

Morgan Freeman, who plays Bryce’s legendary bodyguard father, Frank Grillo as agent Bobby O’Neill, and Antonio Banderas as the villain Aristotle Papadopolous are the newcomers to this film and each give performances that are right in line with Hayek, Jackson, and Reynolds. All manage to just barely straddle the invisible line between over the top and plain cartoonish.

This film is no way close to being a masterpiece nor would one say it is a good action film, but the laughs are there and the action sequences are, too. To put it plain and simply, the film is just stupidly entertaining.

Grade: C