Movie Review: Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

The beauty of The Hitman's Bodyguard was that it was this really pure throwback to the over-the-top buddy action comedies of the 80's and 90's (i.e. Tango & Cash, Midnight Run, The Last Boy Scout) where the entire movie was built around the odd couple chemistry between the leads and the breakneck energy in which the material was delivered with. It was the type of reasonably modest, contained affair that never felt like it was laying down the groundwork for a franchise, but alas after it made somewhat of a splash at the late summer box office in 2017, Lionsgate decided to go forward with a sequel. That sequel-boasting the appropriately preposterous title of Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard-proves to be a worthy continuation of this unlikely success story namely because it remains comfortable and confident with its identity while going through the inevitable bigger, flashier second installment motions. 

The ease in which Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard displays in returning to this world is really a credit to the continuity present within its core creative team. With everyone from the director (Patrick Hughes) to the writer (Tom O'Connor) to the central cast (Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek-who is elevated from a supporting player to a leading role for the second time) all coming back, there was an established synergy in place that allowed this production to avoid the difficult creative realignment some sequels face and just get back into the established swing of things. And since everybody was on the same page well before the cameras rolled, they could get down to what really matters: making the loudest, silliest and most obscene project they could possibly make, and they did a damn fine job of doing just that. 

Hayek's intensity and ability to sling expletives with the proper amount of natural gusto makes her a great addition to the chaotic bickering dynamic Reynolds and Jackson mastered in the previous outing (and effortlessly step back into here), Hughes brings a frenzied sense of urgency to the direction that really amplifies the sensory impact of the non-stop violent/verbal combat that takes place on screen and the way it deploys little character quirks and old school physical humor at times to spruce up its lowbrow dark sense of humor improves the hit rate of its jokes by a considerable margin. While its much less streamlined plot involving the returning trio being recruited by Interpol to thwart a terrorist attack on all of Europe after they kill the government informant (Kristofer Kamiyasu) who was initially tasked with stopping the operation and nondescript contributions from the serious newcomers (Antonio Banderas, Frank Grillo, Morgan Freeman) are enough of a stain to put it slightly below its predecessor, Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is amusing and entertaining enough to justify continuing this slight, goofy universe.     

Grade: B