The Hitman’s Bodyguard
This is a movie that you will publicly condemn while responding with a wink and a smile.
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is an outrageously excessive film that is saved by the performances of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Selma Hayek. Exceedingly violent and laced with screaming profanity from nearly every character, it is a film devoid of any charm.
Simply stated, Ryan Reynolds plays Michael Bryce, a recognized private security man who is brought to disgrace after failing to protect a prior client. He is now solicited to be a bodyguard for an assassin (Mr. Jackson) who is needed to testify at The Hague against a Belarus dictator (Gary Oldham). The bulk of the film covers their attempts to avoid death over a 24-hour period.
Unfortunately, despite a salaciously funny performance by Selma Hayek as the profane-laced, jailed spouse of Jackson, you gradually risk losing interest in the film that is dominated with a continual series of car and boat chases. You start to look at your watch as you watch the good guys simply get wounded while a hoard of bad guys die.
As noted, the relationship of Reynolds and Jackson save the movie as you watch them evolve from protagonists to allies. But please be warned that they seldom have a conversation that doesn’t involve repeated use of four-letter words, so I would advise you against going to church before seeing the movie and simply find a way to a confessional after leaving the theater.
