The Reel Review
Ryan Reynolds reprises his role from the 2017 action/comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard as the protector of professional hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) – only this time he also must protect Kincaid’s even crazier, con artist wife, Sonia (Salma Hayek). The trio team up to stop a Greek shipping tycoon (Antonio Banderas) from launching a terror attack against Europe’s power grid.
The sequel, a farcical sendup of international spy thrillers, trots out a heavy dose of Reynolds’ now trademark snark, only it is not quite as clever or as on point as it was in Marvel’s hilarious Deadpool films. If the title doesn’t tip you off, the focus of this comedy is Salma Hayek, as the totally bonkers, hitman’s wife. She’s actually thoroughly entertaining to watch and brings a welcomed, zany humor to offset what is otherwise a very stale, mediocre story.
Despite the film’s overall blahness, it still is a good time if you enjoyed the original and have a couple of hours to kill. The on-screen chemistry among Reynolds, Jackson and Hayek is also fun – it looks like they had a blast making the film, and that energy and humor at least comes through.
REEL FACTS
• At least 150 cast and crewmembers from 2017’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard returned to work on this sequel.
• The U.S. version of the film is one hour and 40 minutes. Another version seen elsewhere has an additional 16 minutes of more violent scenes.
• Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is one of the largest international film productions ever filmed in Croatia, with other scenes filmed in Italy, Slovenia, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom.
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