[5]

Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson star in this tepid action/comedy that feels too inspired by buddy flicks like Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang for its own good. Reynolds plays a down-and-out bodyguard hired to protect an incarcerated hitman (Jackson) while he’s escorted to trial where he’ll testify against a deadly dictator (Gary Oldman). The plot is a hack job if there ever was one, though it’s somewhat refreshing to see the two main characters talking about the women in their lives as much as they do here — it’s what drives both of them. Jackson sees the adventure as an opportunity to get close to his imprisoned lover, a deadly woman who cusses like a sailor. Salma Hayek steals the show in the role, despite having very limited screen time. Reynolds’ character is trying to forgive a woman who betrayed him (Elodie Yung).

Apart from three or four stylish musical-montage flashbacks, there’s not much else surprising or terribly interesting about The Hitman’s Bodyguard. It’s a cookie-cutter type of movie with probably the most cliched casting of the year. Reynolds is playing Reynolds with all his snarky backtalk, and Jackson is playing Jackson with every other word out of his mouth being his trademarked ‘motherfucker’. I love both these actors in many other movies, but the schtick feels too forced here. Oldman’s role is well beneath an actor of his calibre.