REVIEW: Ryan Reynolds, Salma Hayek, and Samuel Jackson Deliver Action and Comedy in ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’

Patrick Hughes’ The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds (The Bodyguard/Michael Bryce), Salma Hayek (The Wife/Sonia Kincaid), and Samuel Jackson (The Hitman/Darius Kincaid), offers up more fast-paced action and comedy carrying over from its prequel.

Salma is now at center stage as the provocative global con artist that must save her husband, Darius, from the European mafia. But, unfortunately, she mistakingly thinks to her husband’s comedic shock and horror that she needs Michael Bryce to help do it. 

The film opens with Bryce having what we later learn to be a hilarious neverending nightmare loop of losing his bodyguard accreditation with Sam Jackson at the center, who garners laughs in the film’s first few minutes. Because well, he’s Samuel L. Jackson, of course.

Michael is then face up at his therapy session, literally on the last nerve of his therapist. She quickly claims he’s graduated from therapy, bans him from bodyguarding, and banishes him to an exotic locale for some rest and meditation; most importantly, as far away from her office as possible. Bryce is seen leaving himself voicemail messages as he mentally tries to evolve into his better self, post losing his sacred bodyguarding credentials. 

We then quickly find Bryce on the island of Capri, chilling with his headphones and a hard copy of The Secret, which is comical in itself. Bryce is then interrupted with the trash-talking, expletive dropping, and gun-toting Sonia, who held Bryce’s therapist at gunpoint to retrieve his location for him to help save Darius.

She comes in with an absolute bang as they escape the mafia on Vespa through the streets of Capri and have to do a cliff dive to avoid death and ultimately end up in the island’s beautiful blue grottos. 

Once they agree to rescue Darius, although Bryce is reluctant as he doesn’t want to interfere with how far he has come post-therapy, as well as it’s illegal for him to actually bodyguard, we see him using whatever he can outside of a gun, including mace to rescue Darius. However, they ultimately end up in the hands of Interpol agent Bobby O’Neill (Frank Grillo). The latter having dirt on all three, Interpol strike’s a bargain with them to help take down Aristotle Papadopolous, played by Antonio Banderas.

Papadopolous is a gold and crimson suede Gucci-esque slipper wearing, lace front having billionaire villain, dead set on taking down the EU’s infrastructure with a diamond-tipped drill because of the European Union’s treatment of his homeland Greece. He is determined to return Greece to the center of civilization and has no issue letting everything else burn to do it.

As the trio attempts to breach Papadopolous’ mafia, Sonia ends up with a bomb strapped to a bracelet in a club, now on her wrist, and a suitcase of EU coordinates that will detonate if too far from her side. Someone dares to call her old in the club, and complete havoc breaks out.

There are tons of club and bar fights, car chases, explosions, and we literally stopped counting on how many times Bryce was either run over, shot, drugged, punched, and also mishandled by the dysfunctional duo, Sonia and Darius, including getting dumped overboard into the Mediterranean Sea while still alive in a premature funeral service.

While some of the drive-bys were outrageous, you just chalked it up as this is what the film is; it’s ok to laugh. The well-timed action scenes make the jokes and Bryce getting run over and flipped in the air well more than tolerable. These scenes remind you to just have fun with it. Morgan Freeman also makes an appearance and is the gift that you will have to wait for upon the film’s premiere. 

The film has these quirky little tidbits of comedy. Sonia wants to start a family, and Darius keeps a secret while they continue to attempt to procreate with a disregard for Bryce’s presence on more than one occasion. While they aren’t side-splitting, they kept you entertained with the charismatic and seasoned actors delivering lines with precision. This is not James Bond, and it’s not trying to be, but it is a fun parody of spy action films, and that’s what you get along with some consistent comedy, action, and a scenic tour of the EU. 

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard releases only in theaters June 16.