Blu-ray Review: Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

It is safe to say that if you enjoyed the action-comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard in 2017, then you may find some entertainment value in the sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K. Those unfamiliar with the franchise may feel more lukewarm toward the new chapter.

The film is ostensibly the story of down on his luck bodyguard named Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and his relationship with hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson). Having been stripped of his bodyguarding license, Bryce is out of work and desperate when Kincaid’s wife, Sonia (Salma Hayek) approaches him to help rescue Darius from the clutches of madman Aristotle Papadopolous (Antonio Banderas), who is attempting to wreak havoc across all of Europe for some reason or another.

Unfortunately, there is very little that works in this film. Even the likability of the three stars is repeatedly put to the test as they are constantly put in situations that they are either not allowed to exit gracefully or in any amusing manner (which is sort of the opposite of what a comedy is supposedly aiming to accomplish).

Salma Hayek and Ryan Reynolds in “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.”

Even Morgan Freeman, who shows up later in the movie, can do nothing to salvage the meandering plot and wandering comedy that has been on display since the film began. Even a few relatively impressive action sequences do little to pull the film from the doldrums it has descended into.

Apart from fans of the first film, there is little to suggest that anyone else will find anything remotely entertaining with The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. Given the talent involved, that makes for a disappointing sequel.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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