The Hitman’s Bodyguard Review

There are two kinds of summer popcorn movies on the less thoughtful end, meaning the less substantial type. There is the kind that can be fun, while also managing to annoy, confuse and perhaps make you upset at the fact that you have just wasted two hours of your life that you can't get back; and then there is the kind that can be honest to goodness pure fun that you can experience genuine enjoyment from. The Hitman's Bodyguard falls into the latter category. It is a film that, for all the criticisms being leveled at it, is a good time at the movies. And in the wake of recent events in the world and the fallout from those events, we need as many good times at the movies as we can get. Besides that, it's back to school time. That should scream out for one last hurrah before all the serious dramas of Oscar season run in. This picture is as transparent as you can get. It tells you exactly everything you need to know as quickly as possible and sets you off running. Ryan Reynolds is Michael Bryce, a top-rated bodyguard whose job is keeping people safe, no matter who they are, good or bad. He plans everything out to the tiniest detail, every escape route is covered, every possible area where an assassin can strike has been considered. You want to be protected, he is the guy to do it. On a routine job protecting Japanese arms dealer, everything goes well until they fall apart at the last possible minute. Two years later,  a very different Michael Bryce has gone from being a top-rated protection agent to guarding virtually a nobody who is barely able to keep himself together. In spite of all that, he is still really good at keeping people alive. The irony is that he becomes tasked with keeping safe the last person he ever expected. Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) is a contract hitman who agrees to testify at the International Court of Justice against a ruthless dictator (Gary Oldman), in exchange for the freedom of his wife Sonia (Salma Hayek). He must be transported from prison to the courthouse and guess what, he needs to be protected from forces who want him dead. When the initial plan fails, Michael Bryce reluctantly gets pulled into protecting not only the most notorious killer but his arch-rival. The Moriarty to Bryce's Holmes, or the other way around for that matter. [caption id="attachment_100162" align="aligncenter" width="800"] MICHAEL BRYCE (Ryan Reynolds) and DARIUS KINCAID (Samuel L Jackson) in THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD.[/caption] Is this the best film you'll see all summer, absolutely not. It is predictable, loaded with clichés, and holds very little substance. However, it could make a decent case that it is the might be the most outright fun movie you'll see all summer. If you're wondering why that is, the answer lies quite simply in the film's two leads. That is what keeps this film vibrantly alive. They play very well off of one another. Sure, Ryan Reynolds may have gotten top-billing, but make no mistake, this is a genuine Samuel L. Jackson show because he steals every scene he is in. Literally every one. Reynolds is no slouch but it is quite apparent that Jackson is having more fun in this film.