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The Hitman's Bodyguard

27/7/2018

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Genre: Action, Comedy
Rating: 15
Warnings: Mild Gore

Following his success in Deadpool, everyone's favourite comedy crush Ryan Reynolds pairs up with sweary, funny badass Samuel L. Jackson for a classic 'odd couple' story. The basic set up is that prolific hitman, Jackson's Darius Kincaid, is due to testify against a dictator in an international court case, and once-successful bodyguard Reynold's Michael Bryce is called in to stop him being assassinated by the dictator's men.

The action is exciting and follows fairly logically; shoot outs and car chases feature as things build up to a peak. The comedy comes naturally between Bryce being over prepared and cautious and Kincaid being ridiculously blasé about his own safety.
For what could have been a rushed-out and forgettable movie, the big stars involved put the effort in and made this a really great film. The two romantic relationships shown are very different but also both believable and well portrayed; the characters are well developed and layered. Gruff murderer-for-hire Kincaid reveals he refuses to kill innocents and enjoys his job killing criminals, but isn't too concerned with his moral status. His wife is a violent badass and swears hatefully down the phone to him, but protects him and seems to truly love him.

The genocidal dictator in the background storyline does make for some unpleasant scenes, and a main character does remove a bullet from their leg. These aren't gratuitous and you aren't entangled with other scenes, so you can easily look away for a moment. The action plot violence is mostly from a distance, leading to exciting sequences without unpleasant gore.

The characters do feel very familiar: With this film being made and released between the massively popular and perfectly cast Deadpool and Deadpool 2, it's easy to see why Reynolds character feels like a pre-cancer or alternative universe Wade Wilson. Instead of a lowly heavy for hire, Bryce was at the top of his career as a bodyguard until a client was assassinated. The comparison is more of a fun aside.

Likewise, Jackson has addressed slight criticism that he plays "that same motherfucker" in every film; his Kincaid feels like an older Jules Winnfield. Darius is a hitman with morals and seems to think he's indestructible. In Pulp Fiction, Jules is a hitman who believes a miracle saved his life, and decides to get out of the underbelly work he does. His plan to "wander the earth like Caine in Kung Fu" until G-d gives him a sign of what to do next might have led him to hitmanning. He has the skills, he only kills crimelords, and he still thinks divine intervention is keeping him safe.

Even without this further, theoretical reading, this is a great film with believable and likeable characters. You'll be invested in the storyline and feel sympathetic to the characters. A fun ride through the journey to the court, it's worth putting aside an afternoon to enjoy. By the end, the two men has learned to respect each other and the audience has grown to genuinely care what happens to them now.
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