Alexander
Lukashenko must be bent out of shape. Hollywood makes a movie about a Belarusian
dictator trying to escape prosecution for crimes against humanity, but they can’t
be bothered to call him out by name? Instead, it is one Vladislav Dukhovich who
has put a price on the only international assassin crazy enough to testify
against him. All the other potentially damaging witnesses have been killed, but
Darius Kincaid is bizarrely hard to kill. He will also have old nemesis,
personal security specialist Michael Bryce watching his back, whether he likes
it or not, in Patrick Hughes’ The Hitman’s
Bodyguard
(trailer here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
Several
years ago, a Japanese arms dealer under Bryce’s protection was drilled between
the eyes, dragging Bryce’s business down with him. It was Kincaid who made the
shot. In the small world department, Bryce’s ex, Interpol Agent Amelia Roussel
is in charge of Kincaid’s security. Captured through a fluke, Kincaid cut a
deal to testify against Dukhovich in exchange for his wife’s freedom.
Unfortunately, his lack of faith in Interpol’s security protocols will be
vindicated when Dukhovich’s mercenaries ambush their motorcade. Suspecting a
mole in the agency, Roussel contracts Bryce to safely transport Kincaid to The
Hague, despite their bitter history as rivals. Much Odd Couple-style humor
ensues, as the body count escalates.
In
between car chases and gun fights, Kincaid and Bryce will bicker and banter—and
in the case of the former, drop MF bombs like there is no tomorrow. Yep, he
would be the one played by Samuel L. Jackson. Frankly, this is the sort of
loopy action comedy that were a staple of 1980s second run dollar theaters. It
is therefore rather fitting Richard E. Grant has a cameo in the prologue as
Bryce’s latest sleazy client.
It
should be readily stipulated Jackson and Ryan Reynolds develop an amusing
comedic chemistry together. They settle into a nice rhythm playing off each
other and neither is too shy to mug a little for the camera. Jackson is
basically recycling his Pulp Fiction persona
yet again, but it still hasn’t gotten old yet, so it’s tough to blame him. Reynolds
is well cast as the armed-and-dangerous Felix Unger. It is also nice to see
Elodie Yung get to participate in the action as Roussel, while Gary Oldman (a
reliable villain if ever there was one) chews the scenery as an entitled
dictator would. However, Salma Hayek is under-employed as Kincaid’s borderline
psychotic wife Sonia.