When we said we wanted a Deadpool + Nick Fury team-up movie we honestly meant within the MCU but when The Hitman’s Bodyguard hit cinemas in 2017 we were not upset at all. The combination of Samuel L Jackson’s carefree Hitman and Ryan Reynolds’s safety first Bodyguard scratched an itch that we very much needed. Now with the almost assured sequel now in cinemas – does the Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard scratch that same itch.
For anyone who hasn’t seen the first film the basic plot goes like this. Deadpool aka Michael Bryce is an elite Triple-A rated Bodyguard who has a reputation for the finest level of protection, that is until Nick Fury aka Darius Kincaid manages to headshot his protectee from the otherside of the map. After Aviation Gin spokesperson Ryan Reynolds loses his rating and find himself bodyguarding the lowest run of the ladder, his ex-girlfriend Interpol Agent and former Elektra from Daredevil asks him to protect Kincaid and get him to the Hague. You can probably guess what happens from that point with us now finding ourselves at the sequel. To be honest if you are planning to go see this no matter what you don’t even need our recap because the film does it for you within the first 5 minutes.
The latest installment in the Too Ryan Too Reynolds-ist franchise we join with the former triple-AAA rated bodyguard having lost his license and pending a board review, taking some time out for himself (per his therapist) to holiday away from Bodyguarding. That is until Kincaid’s wife Salma Hayek grabs the One Guy without a Girl or in a Pizza Place to stage a rescue of her husband who has been grabbed by a local mafia leader. Things ensue before the now trio find themselves entangled with a terrorist plot involving the EU, Interpol and Zorro.
While it is following the first film this new addition is more of a compliment to the original than the first. Switching out a lot of the Detective Pikachu/Mace Windu banter for more the slow decline into madness for Hal Jordan. Where the first film was almost a Hitman/Bodyguard Odd Couple like road trip across Europe this return (while still having a lot of action scenes) goes in a more James Bond’esque spy route with a terrorist plot looming in the background. Coming in at just under the runtime of the first film that was nearly 2 hours this one does feel just as long being broken up into effectively 3-4 acts.
So, should you go see it? Well if you can safely and you have that Ryan Reynold’s itch then sure, absolutely. While it may not exceed the original film it definitely is a complement to it that gives more of the same characters but pushes them just a little further. While we would have liked to see a return of Interpol Elektra to give Van Wilder more to do than be a road cone, we could see this becoming a trilogy – Perhaps The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’s Second Cousin Twice Removed is currently being written as you read this.
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is in cinemas around Australia right now.
