BLU-RAY REVIEW:
Lionsgate;
Action Comedy;
Box Office $75.47 million;
$29.95 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray, $42.99 UHD BD;
Rated ‘R’ for strong violence and language throughout.
Stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Élodie Yung, Joaquim de Almeida, Kirsty Mitchell, Richard E. Grant.
Advertising for The Hitman’s Bodyguard promoted a riotous comedy akin to Deadpool, which makes sense given the Ryan Reynolds connection. The movie we got, on the other hand, turned out to be a pretty hardcore action flick peppered with moments of irreverent humor and some otherwise dark overtones.
The story involves a disgraced private bodyguard (Reynolds) being hired by a former lover (Élodie Yung of Netflix’s “Daredevil”) working for Interpol to escort an international hitman (Samuel L. Jackson) to a high-profile war crimes trial involving a European dictator (Gary Oldman), after other witnesses turn up dead due to a suspected mole in the agency.
On cue, assassins get wind of the duo of Reynolds and Jackson and hunt them down with furious gunfire through car, motorcycle and boat chases. The movie gets by mostly due to the chemistry of its two leads, but otherwise shouldn’t disappoint too many fans of buddy action movies. Besides, with Jackson (Nick Fury in the “Avengers” movies), Reynolds (Deadpool himself) and Yung (Elektra on Marvel’s Netflix shows), it’s practically a Marvel Comics crossover. (Oldman was Commissioner Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, but that’s on the DC Comics side of the ledger so we’ll have to leave him out.)
The Blu-ray includes a ton of good extras, such as deleted scenes, some typical behind-the-scenes featurettes and a commentary from director Patrick Hughes, himself no stranger to action after helming The Expendables 3.