First Take: The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard- insert obligatory Samuel L Jackson swearing joke here.

SYNOPSIS: Four years after the events of the original film, bodyguard Michael Bryce is on a company mandated sabbatical when Sonia Kincaid, the wife of hitman Darius Kincaid whom Bryce shares an uneasy friendship with, rescues him from an assassination attempt to rescue Darius.

In 2017, a former general manager hinted that an indie film would surprise customers when it opened at his newly refurbished cinema- little did we know that the movie we call The Hitman’s Bodyguard would become a stalwart of Film4 schedules thanks to its super likeable nature. Now, after a Covid delay, the sequel is here, and sadly, it’s gone too Hollywood.

Most of the same team are back on this second film, including director Patrick Hughes, who does a decent job pacing the film out- unfortunately there are issues though, with the 1 hour 40 minute runtime causing some of our Journal creative team to fall asleep during a major plot point (Lord knows how that happened), and that’s more due to the script from Tom O’Connor, Brandon and Phillip Murphy, as it replicates the humour, but not the charm of the original film. However, it is shot well by Terry Stacey, and Atli Orvasson’s score comes in where it is needed, much like the selection of music which soundtracks the action sequences.

When it comes to the performances, it’s another film where Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson get to be themselves with swearing, action and self-referential humour at the forefront, and this time round, Salma Hayek gets a much bigger part to play- and she’s got some of the comedic highlights of the film. The new additions include Antonio Banderas, who feels like a bit of a mismatch for this kind of film, Morgan Freeman and Rebecca Front, but even with the starpower, it just doesn’t hit the same heights of the original, which is a real shame.

THE VERDICT

I know other critics have ripped this film to shreds, but if you’re looking for cheesy, bonkers action with a little Deadpool humour, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard does it perfectly. It’s not the greatest film in cinemas right now, but in alternate programming terms, it’s the best antidote for Fast 9 and A Quiet Place.

RATING: 3.5/5