The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

I don’t know who needed a sequel to the first movie, but for what it’s worth, I don’t hate the decision.

Set only a couple years after the events of the original film, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard picks up with protagonist Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) trying to make ends meet after his epic fall from grace as a successful (and lucrative) private bodyguard. Trying his best to leave that life behind him as well as rid his mind of the notorious hitman, Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), whom started Bryce’s downfall in the first place, Bryce is sought out by Kincaid’s wife, Sonia (Salma Hayek), to help her save her husband from certain death; something that Bryce is now intimately familiar with doing after their last interaction with one another. Still disliking Kincaid with a passion, Bryce isn’t super into the idea at first, but ends up tagging along nonetheless, and as the plot begins to thicken, more hilariously action packed shenanigans ensue, pushing all three characters into even more dire and sticky situations before the credits roll.

A follow-up to the first perfectly entertaining yet mostly forgettable entry in this series. The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is more or less a sequel vehicle for Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek to do what they do best: make people laugh and punch a few bad guys in the face while they’re at it. And judging the film on those few elements alone, I have to say that the filmmakers knew where their bread was buttered, for better or worse, and didn’t do much to change that formula.

Complete with jokes, cussing, gun fights, hand-to-hand combat and more, this film isn’t trying to be anything more than what it’s advertised to be, and for that I can respect what the filmmakers were going for. But otherwise — and if these three specific actors weren’t attached to this — there wouldn’t be enough going on to warrant a watch in the first place, even if this sequel ends up being a tad but better than the original by the end of it all.

With a story that’s more so a means to an end to push these three characters back together, and some scripting that’s either just plain lazy or so unrealistic that it would make Michael Bay blush, this film is vapid popcorn entertainment at it’s peak, and a cobbled together mess at its lowest. But even with all of that said, seeing Reynolds, Jackson and Hayek interact with one another with quips, insults, punches and gunshots criss-crossing between them is an undeniably fun combination to watch, I just wish there was more inventiveness happening surrounding these moments to give the film a little more substance overall.

Still, there’s a lot to love in pretty much any movie Ryan Reynolds touches, so if you’re looking for an entertaining escape but don’t want to think about it too much, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is probably worth the watch for you. Otherwise, I’d be surprised if this series gets yet another sequel as I feel like there can’t possibly be much more to cover here, but if by some alignment of the Hollywood stars we do get a threequel, well, I won’t complain about it.