Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson, and Salma Hayek are starring in the sequel to the hit 2017 film, The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Did it live up to the hype? (Warning: spoilers ahead).
Unfortunately, this sequel lacks much of the humour that made the first one hilarious and tried to introduce an overcomplicated plot in order to justify action scene after action scene, however they are the highlight of the film, with the scenes on the boat at the end being particular action stand outs.
Firstly though, this was the first film that I saw back in the cinema since September. While the cinema was mostly empty, the experience of seeing a film on the big screen again was amazing. The atmosphere of anticipation before the film started was great to experience and having a proper sound system to witness some of the set pieces was brilliant. Finally, one huge benefit of being in the cinema again compared with watching on a streaming service is not having to rely on a decent internet connection to watch a streaming service. There is nothing worse than an especially tense or funny moment in a film and then it buffers and kills the mood. In a cinema, this not a concern.
Back to the film. This was a highly anticipated sequel for me, as the first one left a big impression. However, this instalment pales in comparison with the first entry. Firstly, the humour. While the first film made me laugh constantly, this film only made me chuckle infrequently. Ryan Reynolds provides most of the comedic beats of the film, whereas the rest of the cast are unfortunately less funny. The humour in the first film was a simple and easy to laugh at, but the sequel had less of those moments, due to the complex nature of the plot.
This leads me onto the problems of the plot. For me, it was overcomplicated, especially when compared to the first film. In the first film, Ryan Reynolds’ character Michael Bryce must escort Samuel Jackson’s Darius Kincaid to the Hague on a ticking clock. Simple. This film’s plot takes the simple plot of an escort mission and turns it into a saving the world scenario, with very little bodyguarding. In fact, I believe there was only one scene where the title fit the film itself.
The complexity of the film begins with the villain, Aristotle Papadopoulos (played by Antonio Baderas), who wants to cripple the Europe’s infrastructure with a cyber-attack, after the EU sanction Greece (why the EU would do this is never gone into). This is the wrong type of villain for a bodyguarding film, as it should be about protecting a highly valued individual. The story also moves extremely fast, not letting the audience catch up with what is going on.
How our villain is stopped is also extremely confusing, as our trio are drawn into this situation by Interpol after Darius Kincaid’s rescue ends in the death of an Interpol informant. This leads them to acquire a briefcase with important information (and the only bodyguarding scene in the film), to being then chased by Interpol and the bad guys.
We think we can lay low a bit for while we meet Michael’s dad, who works for the bad guys, before eventually our villain is taken down. As I have already mentioned, this is vastly overcomplicated compared to the simple escort mission in the first film.
This plot also leads to a lot of action set pieces. Most are average, though particular standouts are on the boat set in the third act of the film. The addition of Michael’s bodyguard nemesis and Darius Kincaid’s hitman nemesis was interesting and provided good action. This film would have been serviced better if their nemesis were introduced earlier on in the film and were the primary villains.
Overall, this film was disappointing. It is not a regrettable watch, it had some funny moments and some good action, though not as good as the first film. It is clear that the cast are having fun in the film, though this doesn’t entirely rub off on the audience.
Ryan Reynolds was again the standout actor in the film. Michael Bryce is largely a funny character to watch and has strong growth over the course of the film. The other two stars don’t have as strong growth, and are more over the top than Reynold’s character, which makes them less likeable in the film.
Hitman’s Wife Bodyguard is available to watch in cinemas.
By Kieran Burt
Feature image: Lionsgate