A lot of good action, a lot of bad language and a few laughs. I guess I expected maybe a few more laughs, but this movie is fun, just very typical. Sam Jackson seemed like he was having a great time. An interesting/fun role for Salma Hayek as well.
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funtasticfour23 April 2018
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s_launder14 April 2018Don't expect clever conversation, or a thoughtful plot line. It's just funny, action and it really works.
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GrantTDawson10 August 2017The Hit-man's Bodyguard is a movie I never knew I wanted to see until I saw the first trailer. I was instantly hooked, and couldn't wait to see it on opening day. Well, I actually got a bit lucky for once as I was invited to see the movie almost two weeks before it opened. And I gotta say, it's one of the best action/comedy movies I've watched in quite a while...perhaps since Deadpool.
So what's this movie about? Well, it's about a guy (Ryan Reynolds) who used to run a protection agency before he lost a client and his business failed, forcing him to become a personal bodyguard. He is tasked by an Interpol agent to get a witness who is a former assassin (Samuel L. Jackson) to a courthouse to testify against a dictator. Craziness ensues.
While the story sounds interesting, it plays out in a pretty typical and predictable way. Not that I should have expected much more. It is an action/comedy film, after all. But predictability aside, the story does get the job done. Yeah, you'll be able to figure out how the film will end within the first 30 minutes or so, but that's not all that important, because it's all about the journey to that very predictable, and satisfying, ending. And boy, the adventure that Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds go on is extremely entertaining.
Being a comedy, you'd expect some good comedy in this film, right? Well, The Hit-man's Bodyguard delivers on that expectation and then some. Once you get past the movie's slow start, it's pretty much an all you can chuckle buffet. (The chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson is incredible!) Of course there are a few jokes that fall flat, but they are few and far between. Oh yeah, if you're a fan of Deadpool humor, you'll really like this movie. It's not full-blown Deadpool, but it's pretty damn similar.
Now, the biggest surprise for me with this movie is how great the action sequences are. The team behind this film definitely drew some influence from movies like John Wick and Jason Bourne for both the combat scenes and the chase scenes. They're riveting, with some great humor sprinkled in.
Overall, The Hit-man's Bodyguard is one of the biggest surprises of the year so far for me, and will definitely go down as one of the most enjoyable films of the year. It's funny, it's action packed, and the story is interesting enough to keep it all moving towards a satisfying conclusion. So yeah, I guess you could say it's pretty dang good. Go see it when it comes out on August 18th. -
tlrg-legend18 September 2017There was a time when the buddy movie formula ruled the Hollywood cinematic universe. We loved the brashness of such films as Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours. But then the formula fizzled out and filmmakers moved to other things. To cite an obvious example, The Nice Guys (2016) starring such acting heavyweights as Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling was smartly set in the '70s but despite its okay plot, and superb acting by both Crowe and Gosling, wasn't a big box-office hit.
The Hit-man's Bodyguard looked like a great idea on paper – bring together Ryan Reynolds, fresh off the boat from his profanity-ridden Deadpool and Samuel L Jackson, who is known for his on-screen cussing, and wait for the fireworks to start as the duo at first go all out to murder each other and then develop a mutual respect that borders on friendship. And, for most part, director Patrick Hughes, of The Expendables 3 fame, gets it right. The best scenes in the film are when Reynolds and Jackson are pissing each other off. Reynolds doesn't roll off expletives like he does in Deadpool but Jackson does go over the top. Reynolds smartly plays the straight guy to Jackson's more gregarious character and it works.
The plot of the film is explained in its title itself. Reynolds is a down-on-his luck private security agent, who is cajoled by his girlfriend Elodie Yung, an Interpol agent, into making sure an ace hit-man, Samuel L Jackson, reaches the international court at Hague alive to testify against an evil dictator of Belarus – which is an actual country, by-the-by . The creepy dictator is played by Gary Oldman who gets to ham to his heart's content. Now, the bodyguard and the assassin have a history – it's revealed that Jackson tried to kill Reynolds some 28 times in the past – so one can see that their relationship isn't going to be easy. In fact, they start of by trying to kill each other and only Jackson's injury prevents him from killing his would-be bodyguard. The rest of film is devoted to the banter between them and how they defuse the tension and reach their goal.
The film's chief flaw is that director Hughes just doesn't get the tone right. Instead of concentrating on making a buddy movie with a smattering of violence, he goes for the overkill, piling up bodies by the dozen at every action set piece. Then, there are a couple of gory scenes as well that jar. Gary Oldman executes the wife and child of a rebel in cold blood and Reynolds is tortured through electric shocks in a graphic manner. The action scenes too don't have a fluid intensity that we have come to expect from Hollywood blockbusters. Then, while we get that Reynolds' motives for helping his ex is to get her back, there are too few scenes between him and Yung to get the chemistry going. Compared to that, the scenes between Jackson and his wife, played by Salma Hayek, are epic. She out-cusses him in a scene set in a jail and we see a nice montage of her fighting off guys in a bar and Jackson mooning over her as she uses the jagged edge of a beer bottle to open up a man's neck that's love at first sight served with a Gothic twist.
The film would have fallen flat if not for the efforts of Reynolds and Jackson. We can see they are enjoying working with each other and it's their camaraderie plus some crazy-ass dialogue that saves the day. Watch the film if you are a Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson fan. Watch Midnight Run instead if you want to watch a real buddy movie -
scmcgraw-232498 August 2017Just watched a sneak preview of The Hit-man's Bodyguard. I had high expectations given the cast of Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson. The movie exceeded these expectations! Over the top comedy and action -- best combination since Deadpool last year. Definitely worth watching!
I'm a long-time IMDb user, but this movie was so good, I felt I needed to get an IMDb login so I could review it!
Top movie I've seen this year, edging out Baby Driver! -
Reynolds and Jackson are brilliant. Of course the story line is a bit generic. It's far from being a classic, but decent enough to watch once. a few good laughs, some good (albeit far-fetched) action.
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"Deadpool 3" anyone? That's what it felt like with only the super-hero costume missing on Ryan Reynolds, what with a more than liberal sprinkling of the 'F' word and Samuel L. Jackson lending his talents as an assassin with intriguing views on life and it's limitations. It almost qualifies as a buddy movie too, except that executive protection consultant Michael Bryce (Reynolds) and hit-man Darius Kincaid (Jackson) don't team up as much as they try to evade a squad of killers dispatched by former Belarus President Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman), standing trial for raping and pillaging his homeland. Both are given clever quips and one-liners to play off each other as wise-cracking antagonists, and as Kincaid expertly summarizes near the end of the story - "You know, when life gives you s__t, you make Kool-Aid". A noteworthy observation, which Bryce by his very fastidious and exacting nature, attempts to rearticulate using the lemons/lemonade example.
If you know these players and have seen them in action before, you pretty much know what to expect. There's plenty of shoot 'em ups and highly imaginative chase scenes for the adrenaline crowd, and unlikely forays into dimensions of romance with Kincaid supplying the interpretations. Selma Hayek and Elodie Yung provide the necessary eye candy as the love interests of Jackson and Reynolds respectively, as the picture races to a countdown challenge that bad guy Dukhovich is determined to take advantage of. It's all played extremely over the top with a lot of collateral damage, but that's what you sign up for with a picture like this. The only question that isn't answered by the time it's over - what's with the fat lady in Sonia Kincaid's prison cell? -
Wow, I was so impressed with this movie. I will admit that the first 20 minutes were pretty generic for me and I found myself thinking, "This is pretty much what I expected, but it's a free screening so just enjoy it." However, once Reynolds and Jackson team up on the screen the entire chemistry of the movie changes and it ended up being one of the funnest "buddy cop" movies I've seen in quite a while. (I know it technically isn't a buddy cop movie, but it really is for all intents and purposes.) The movie doesn't take itself seriously (were you really expecting that with Reynolds and Jackson?!), and just like any modern action/comedy the plot isn't meant to be something like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. This movie is 100% worth spending the cash to go see in the theater with a group of people. I can also tell you this, the atmosphere leaving the theater was great; this movie is a lot of fun!
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I'll admit to the start that I'm not a fan of Ryan Reynolds and his own brand of sarcastic comedy, although I did enjoy DEADPOOL for what its worth. I'd heard a lot about the swearing in this tag-team action comedy featuring Reynolds as a bodyguard teaming up with a hitman (played by a typically wise-cracking Samuel L. Jackson) who needs to get to the ICC but who has an army of mercenary killers waiting to get rid of him. I was expecting the worst, but I really enjoyed this film. Sure, there's a lot of swearing, but no more so than in a usual gangster picture. Reynolds plays it straight which I appreciated and Jackson is quite likeable. The story is familiar and Gary Oldman saddled with one of the most underwritten roles ever, but where this excels is the action; it rocks. It's fast, vivid, and incredibly violent, with numerous henchmen being constantly offed in violent and novel ways. There's a stand-out car chase in the tight canalside streets of Amsterdam which is worth the admission price alone, along with lots of stunts, explosions, and violent gags. I love action, the more realistic the better, so it's a pleasure to see a Hollywood film that doesn't go down the same old CGI-laden superhero route. The likes of THE RAID feel like an inspiration for the gritty choreography here. A shame that modern audiences don't seem to appreciate this kind of action.
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bob-the-movie-man23 August 20172017's summer blockbusters fizzle to a halt with this formulaic action comedy. Ryan Reynolds ("Deadpool") plays Michael Bryce: a cocksure "Triple A rated" bodyguard, always planning three steps ahead so that he can protect his clients without killing anyone in the process. With such arrogance, a fall is inevitable. On the other side of the legal scales is Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson, "The Hateful Eight"), a contract killer who always gets his man. But the incarcerated Kincaid is offered a deal to release his equally incarcerated wife Sonia (Selma Hayek) in return for testifying against the fearsome Belarus president Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"), on trial for war crimes at The Hague. An Interpol team led by Bryce's's ex-squeeze Amelia Roussel (the striking Elodie Yung) now have to get Kincaid to Belgium unscathed with Dukhovich's well-trained and well- armed thugs stopping at nothing to ensure he won't be there to testify. Fate transpires that Bryce and Kincaid become an unlikely team in trying to bring Dukhovich to justice.
This is a movie whose script seems to have been glued together from a patchwork of other movie scenes:- the bad guy / bad guy partner relationship of "The Nice Guys". Check.
- the street ambush of "Clear and Present Danger". Check.
- the Amsterdam boat chase of "Puppet on a Chain". Check.
- the comedic bar-room brawl from "Airplane". Check.
Many of the action scenes are done with panache and some great stunt work. But it's all stuff we've seen countless times before, so what is needed for differentiation is the relationships between Bryce and Kincaid: this needs to be the cornerstone of the film. But it just doesn't quite work. Jackson's contribution is never in doubt, even though we've seen this motherf-ing shtick countless times before: he's still magnetic, charismatic and a joy to watch. But unfortunately Reynolds just doesn't deliver the acting goods to make the banter believable: there is a reason "Deadpool" is his best film - he wears a mask for most of it! His 'puppy-dog look' gets rolled out multiple times, but it's unconvincing in the extreme. Together they are no match for Gosling/Crowe in "The Nice Guys".
On firmer ground is the quirky relationship between Mr and Mrs Kincaid. Although sharing limited screen time together, Hayek and Jackson spark off each other wonderfully. Seeing Selma Hayek in uncharacteristically sweary and belligerent mode was highly entertaining (although it's worth commenting that my wife took great offence to the 'comic' bullying of an overweight cellmate).
Elsewhere in the acting roll call, Elodie Yung delivers just the right measure of cuteness, toughness and passion as Roussel, but Oldman delivers a full-on retread of his Ivan "Get off my plane" Korshunov from "Air Force One". There is also a change to Oldman's character's face at the end of the film in the form of a rampant skin complaint which is 'explained' by a clumsily inserted news item about an "attempted poisoning": it's such a clunky and bizarre addition to the script that it made me wonder whether the actor has some unexpected ailment (like shingles) during filming.... but I can see nothing related to this online.
The screenplay by relative newcomer Tom O'Connor bumps along from implausible action scene to implausible action scene, with more that its fair share of 'WTF' moments. For example, after a random chase through multiple Amsterdam alleys and shops, Jackson pulls up outside the very DIY shop Reynolds ends up in to pick him up! The script is also tonally uneven throughout: given this is supposed to be an "action comedy" the action is often brutal and unpleasant and the comedy - in the main - just not funny enough. (About the funniest thing in the film are the most ineffective sub machine guns known to man, most notably in the mildly ludicrous, if well staged, boat chase scene!)
The film also manages to offend, in more ways than the 15-rated violence and language used: I'm not sure WHEN this movie was actually filmed, but the use of an articulated lorry as a terrorist weapon towards the end of the film is certainly in very poor taste after the events of Nice, London and Barcelona. Not appreciated.
Directed by Patrick Hughes ("The Expendables 3".... say no more) this hodge-podge of a flick is sporadically entertaining, but is one I will struggle to remember in a couple of months time.
(For the full graphical review please visit bob-the-movie-man.com. Thanks). -
Ryan Reynolds in a buddy movie with Samuel Jackson!? As you can imagine I had very high hopes for this and they were expanded further by the trailer and brilliant promotion material including The Bodyguard (1992) spoof poster.
Within the first 15 minutes I was already appeased, Ryan Reynolds is one of those few guys who just has "It" the natural comedic timing, uncanny charisma and acting ability to boot.
The movie is charming, hilarious, action packed and riotous fun.
Also featuring Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung and briefly the highly underrated English legend Richard E Grant.
Yes it does follow a formula you'll be familiar with, you won't see anything you probably haven't seen before and it's very "Hollywood" but in this case that is just fine.
Competently made, brilliantly performed and with a kicking soundtrack to boot.
I dislike action films as a rule but some of the sequences even got my blood pumping and being a comedy action a witty quip would always follow.
Though not ground breaking The Hitmans Bodyguard is a great piece of fun cinema.
The Good:
Decent chemistry between leads
Ryan Reynolds is an entertainment god
Elodie Yung
Well crafted soundtrack
The Bad:
Clichéd and a tad predictable
Things I learnt from this movie:
Mother f**ker is beyond a catchphrase for Jackson now -
Prismark1026 August 2017Tough brutal action comedy, you might think The Hit-man's Bodyguard was written by Shane Black, creator of the Lethal Weapon films.
Ryan Reynolds is Michael Bryce, a strictly by the book executive bodyguard for the rich and famous who lost his triple A rating when his wealthy client got killed while he was meant to protect him.
Samuel L Jackson is Darius Kincaid, a dangerous contract killer who lives on his wits and luck.
Kincaid is due to go to The Hague to be a star witness at the war crimes tribunal against the dictator of Belarus (Gary Oldman) but his Interpol protectors are attacked and Bryce is called in to assist him.
Much of action takes place in England and Amsterdam. The language is coarse, Reynolds and Jackson make a good team but this is not a very original film as you think of movies such as Midnight Run and Lethal Weapon. Jackson does his usual MF shtick and Oldman just reprises his villain from Airforce One.
Parts of the movie is ridiculously contrived such as Jackson just driving up to the hardware store after Reynolds kills a henchman. -
chazzy186418 November 2017Honestly, this movie was a let down. I love Ryan Reynolds, to the point that I'm very biased. I was bored throughout this movie.
The premise is somewhat close to Safe House (2012). Not exact by any means, but close enough that it made me draw comparisons within the first 30 minutes and from that point on, I just kept wanting to stop the movie and turn on Safe House.
I'm not lying. The movie had its moments, but more often than not,I thought it was ridiculous in a bad way and never all that good. Safe House is a movie that has Ryan Reynolds protecting a highly valuable, highly capable target, and is exponentially better.
The problem with this movie, is it is so ridiculous, it is supposed to be funny, however there is only a handful of times that actually made me laugh out loud. More often than not, it seemed to try to take itself seriously, especially when it shouldn't have.
The gun play tried to portray itself as realistic, but fell very short. At times the characters were so amazing they could pull off ridiculous shots with no effort, then couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. While the movie wasn't horrible, it wasn't great. It made me think of better movies that I wanted to watch, while hoping better moments came. Occasionally a better moment would come... I'd laugh out loud (genuinely!) and then it'd pass, leaving me bored again.
You won't hate yourself for watching, but you won't be happy about it either. 5/10 -
minerwolfminer9 February 2022Funny action movie that has a lot of swearing and guns. It is impressive and entertaining that the assassin/hitman has 93% accuracy and the bad guys have 9%. It could also be that the hitman is so good that he really doesn't miss nor get shot. Action packed, funny and worth your time.
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iceman8886928 August 2017I enjoyed the movie to a point and it was a good combination of Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson. The bad thing is, I don't enjoy knowing what is going to happen and how things are going to work out before I am even half way through the movie. Everything that was done in this movie has been done in hundreds or even thousands of other movies. It's a middle of the road action movie with a few good laughs as you would expect from Ryan and Samuel, but it is no doubt nothing ground breaking. Entertaining for the time it runs, but very forgettable and will never become a classic.
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imsumonmia8 September 2017If you have leisure time... you can watch this movie..
This is a straight line story...
Acting awesome. Graphics good.
Sounds are good.
Dialogues are average. -
jmbousman9 August 2017I just saw a preview of "Hitman's Bodyguard" last night with my wife. We are both fan's of action and comedy and went into this hoping it would be as good as we hoped from the actor's involved. I am a HUGE Sam Jackson fan and an equally big Ryan Reynolds fan. I'm glad to say that this movie did not disappoint!
I would've given this movie a 10 if only voting on the action and comedy but there were a couple of plot points that were slightly predictable. I don't feel these couple of things hurt the movie much due to what the movie is being advertised as, which is an action comedy and this is by far where it shines. I laughed harder during some scenes of this movie than I've laughed in a long time during a movie. The last I remember laughing harder is last year during "Deadpool".
If you like lots of action and great comedy with actors with plenty of chemistry and don't mind a significant amount of f-bombs, which if you're a Sam Jackson fan I'm guessing you don't, then drop some cash for a ticket. You won't be disappointed!! -
mts-7868021 August 2017I left theater thinking average (5 of 10) but my family apparently enjoyed it more and said 7-8 so I bumped up this review to 6. Plenty foul-mouthed humor so be prepared. Action scenes almost James Bod-like unrealistic but entertaining. There is definitely a chemistry between Jackson and Reynolds where I could see them hooking up for future projects.
Hayek definitely showed range and some action star potential (but we probably should accept it was most likely body double/stunt women).
Plot ridiculous and law enforcement made to look less competent which always is sad for them. Even military involvement looked rookie like which is designed to make stars (and worse, the "Bad Guys) look more capable and society is at their mercy, sigh...
Don't expect much and just enjoy for entertainment; ideally you'll go to matinée so you can accept mediocrity provided. -
Moody20085 September 2017I gave this movie such a high mark because it made me laugh like I haven't laughed in a while at a movie. It does not have an intricate plot-line, it is predictable but has great lines.
I will say this. With any other actors than Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson this would have been a flop. You can see the humor that Reynolds has in Deadpool and that Jackson has in Django Unchained here. I think this is what I liked the most.They also have great chemistry together, I personally would not have guessed this, but now it makes a lot of sense.
It has interesting action scenes. I personally am not really into that so it makes no difference to me, but they seem pretty good.They also don't go overboard to make it not credible, but exaggerated enough that it is funny.
It is easy, it does not make you think a lot afterwards but it entertains you and I think this was the role of this film.
Hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did. -
achyutaghosh2 September 2017The Hit-man's Bodyguard is racy and entertaining, if generic, action thriller. It is generic in plot- putting two charismatic actors together with their chemistry and comedic timing driving the movie forward. It is racy in treatment- hurtling from one action sequence to the other.
Micheal Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is a AAA rated bodyguard, who falls from grace when his client gets terminated by assassin for hire, man-on-a- mission-to-rid-the-world-of-evil-people and passionate lover Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson). The washed-up Michael gets a chance to redeem himself by transporting Darius safely to testify against a sadistic dictator, Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman). What follows is a race against time, as Dukhovich unleashes hell on the two wisecracking heroes.
"This guy single-handedly ruined the word mother**ker"
The Hit-man's Bodyguard excels solely because director Patrick Hughes lets the leads do what they do best- Samuel L Jackson gets to say Mother***cker every few minutes, while Ryan Reynolds gets the family friendly witty one-liners. It is mostly a laughathon then; even the poster is a rip-off from Kevin Costner- Whitney Houston starrer- The Bodyguard. Throw corrupt cops, lovelorn psychotic lovers, boat chases, bike chases, car chases in the mix, along with beautiful cinematography, and a rocking background score, nevertheless at the end it is just a cheesy, buddy flick.
But then, I cannot stress on this enough, it is Jackson and Reynolds that makes it so watchable. Jackson looks like he continued from where Snakes on a Plane ended, while for Reynolds, think Deadpool with a PG filter.
7/10 for The Hit-man's Bodyguard- it is a solid, predictable action comedy. -
colingick17 December 2018If you're looking for deeply developed characters, a multi-dimensional plotline, or analogies that make you re-evaluate society and your place in it, then this is not your movie. If you're looking for an extremely entertaining movie with legendary action scenes and some hilarious one-liners between two actors that you would love to invite for more than a few cocktails, then this is your movie. Don't think too much. Watch this movie and enjoy it for what it is.
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cfb-150-65246522 August 2017Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson were cast perfectly in their roles. Both did an excellent job. The director went a little overboard on the (always) implausible action sequences. I can forgive the implausible gun battles where the good guys stand out in the open and are able to kill 20-30 bad guys (with machine guns) and not get a scratch. Well, They did get a scratch, but seemingly very minor as it didn't slow them down. One of the rubs is that Hollywood seems not to have Google or Wikipedia. Or at least doesn't know how to use it. Samuel L. Jackson is to be taken to the Hague by Interpol agents. These Interpol agents are very well armed. Interpol does not have armed agents and do not have arrest powers. They simply are an investigative agency.
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SnekDok27 November 2017To sum it all up in one line, this movie should be re-titled to "driving and talking".
If the dialogue was interesting or even remotely funny it would be something... but the only funny parts are slapstick(non-dialogue) comedy at Ryan Reynolds expense and there's maybe two parts that are chuckle-worthy.
You'll be on your phone checking the weather and other things before the halfway point I guarantee it. -
srdjan_veljkovic28 August 2017You have to go quite beyond "suspend disbelief", you really have to let go off any sense of... well, sense.
But, after you do that, you'll find that the movie is a lot of fun. It's not very funny, it has but a few good jokes, but, it is fun and not even close to being boring.
Also, while senseless, it's not weird, or "countering the laws of physics" (too much), or "idiotic"... Things that happen are more-or- less normal things, just pieced up and spiced up to have fun with them.
Acting is OK, Reynolds and SamL do their usual thing, but nothing special. SamL curses way too much for this character - you don't get to kill > 250 people and live to tell about it if you're so out of control - and cursing doesn't do much here (there's one good joke about it, but, it's way too little for a whole movie of SamL talking... impolitely). Selma Hayek was a misfire, she should be great playing a crazy, hot, middle-aged Mexican, but, it just didn't work out.
Everything else is mostly OK here (directing, music...), so, it's a good way to let you brain to rest and have some fun.