The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

The new Michael Bryce is now part of a royally messed up family. But do we care?

"while occasionally funny, is simply more of the same smattering as before and the results are just as you’d expect"


We probably didn’t need a sequel to 2017’s misfire buddy cop movie, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, but we got one anyway.  Thing is, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is more of the same so - and this is the good news (I guess) - if you liked the first one, the second one is right up your alley.  Unfortunately, no one here at Reel Reviews really cared for what came before and the inclusion of a beefed-up part for Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas as the new baddie, and Morgan Freeman - all great character actors - doesn’t really help this one go down any easier.

Just like the first one did, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard blasts its way onto the screen with non-stop violence, plenty of foul fucking language, and rapid edits that makes it really hard to care about its characters and its Italian settings.  Unfortunately, just like the first film, the rapid-fire hail of machine gun bullets and filthy jokes never really hit their intended targets as Director Patrick Hughes and screenwriter Tom O’Connor go for a second helping and double-down on their styling.The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

This is a mismatched buddy cop movie that - while often funny in its cartoonish handling of Ryan Reynolds’ character, who this time gets mixed up with trying to save Kincaid - simply dulls us to death.  Even the occasional bits of charisma shared by its leads - as Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson rarely see eye to eye - gets lost in generic action trappings. It’s the perfect example of the bad things that happen when comedy and carnage collide without taking time to make us give a damn about any of it.

The fact of the matter is that the same problems found in the original are carried over here.

Reynolds is less of a straight man in this follow-up and Jackson has less to do in response to Hayek’s constant dilemmas, which begins with trying to save him from being kidnapped by the mafia.  But that’s only the beginning.  The twists the movie takes - dropping more than one Overboard reference - are cute but not surprising as we start a journey from a therapist’s office to an Italian villa.  I mean, we are dealing with crooks and con artists, so it’s not surprising when even the supposedly “good” guys - Interpol (portrayed here by Frank Grillo) - cannot be trusted.

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, while occasionally funny, is simply more of the same smattering as before and the results are just as you’d expect: the comedy is broader, the action bigger, yet everything misses its mark.  Yawn.

2/5 stars

 

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Available on Blu-ray
- August 17, 2021
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio:
English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

The world's most lethal odd couple -- bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) -- are back on another life-threatening mission. Still unlicensed and under scrutiny, Bryce is forced into action by Darius's even more volatile wife, the infamous international con artist Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek). As Bryce is driven over the edge by his two most dangerous protectees, the trio get in over their heads in a global plot and soon find that they are all that stand between Europe and a vengeful and powerful madman (Antonio Banderas). Joining in the fun and deadly mayhem is Morgan Freeman as... well, you'll have to see. 

Video:

The 1080p treatment of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard looks superb on HD and – especially the beginning in adventure – is a masterful transfer that captures the coast well. Details are explicit. The views look fantastically crisp and the flesh tones are warm. Blues are heavenly. Greens are leafy in their crisp goodness. Black levels are solid. The film is stylistically colored and the hues – from city to island – are adequately handled by an impressive MPEG-4 AVC encode.  While the CGI effects might be a little gamey throughout the film, there are some highlights - mainly the italian villas.

Audio:

The bullets zip by and the explosions shake the house thanks to the crackling fire of the Dolby Atmos on display.  Don’t have the capability yet?  The track converts automatically to a solid Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

It’s a solid offering of fun-filled bonus material.  While the film isn’t great, the cast certainly had fun making the movie.

  • Ryan, Sam, Salma: One F'd Up Family
  • Gone Soft: The New Michael Bryce
  • Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard: #stuntlife
  • On the Set of Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
  • Gag Reel
  • Theatrical Trailers

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 2/5 stars
  Video  3/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 3/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

3/5 stars


Film Details

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language, and some sexual content
Runtime:
94 mins
Director
: Patrick Hughes
Writer:
Phillip Murphy; Brandon Murphy
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds; Samuel L. Jackson; Salma Hayek
Genre
: Comedy | Crime
Tagline:
Hit Me Baby One More Time.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I need you to protect us. We're trying to have a baby."
Theatrical Distributor:
Lionsgate
Official Site: https://www.thehitmanswifesbodyguard.movie/
Release Date:
June 16, 2021
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 17, 2021.
Synopsis: The world's most lethal odd couple – bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) – are back on another life-threatening mission. Still unlicensed and under scrutiny, Bryce is forced into action by Darius's even more volatile wife, the infamous international con artist Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek). As Bryce is driven over the edge by his two most dangerous protectees, the trio get in over their heads in a global plot and soon find that they are all that stand between Europe and a vengeful and powerful madman (Antonio Banderas). Joining in the fun and deadly mayhem is Morgan Freeman as...well, you'll have to see.

Art

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard