Review of The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017) by Gavin P — 31 Aug 2017

'The Hitman's Bodyguard' has been marketed as a parody of Costner/Houston's 'The Bodyguard' from 25 years ago - but having never seen that, I can't compare. It is a pretty straightforward action/comedy, probably more like 'RED'. Plot is very simple - a Belarusian dictator (Oldman) is being tried at The Hague and Interpol need evidence from a hitman he tried to hire, Kincaid (Jackson). Thanks to Agent Roussel (Yung), Bryce (Reynolds) is assigned with getting him safely from England to Holland.

There's a bit of unnecessary backstory about Bryce's bodyguard business, and some serious moment with him & Roussel, but the film's at its best when it's just Reynolds & Jackson on screen, bantering back and forth with at each other. Sure, there's plenty of gunfights, explosions, some Bourne-like stunts and actually a surprisingly high body count, but you never feel like much is at stake and wish they'd focused more on the humour than the action.

It's clear Jackson is having a ball and it's great to see him laugh genuinely. Reynolds is serviceable, but plays the straight guy, and it's always fun to watch Oldman as the villain. Great cameo from Hayek too. This might almost set the record for the most Jackson "mother-f***er"s uttered in a film too! Nothing new, no truly hilarious moments, but fun enough.