The classic buddy action comedy gets an enthusiastic ode in this moderately diverting endeavour that blurs the line between being reverent and being derivative.
Ryan Reynolds plays Michael Bryce, an elite personal protection agent forced into the lower end of the market after losing a high-profile client. Samuel L. Jackson plays Darius Kincaid, a notoriously lethal hitman being compelled to testify against a Belarusian tyrant (Gary Oldman, hammy as ever) in the International Criminal Court.
Motivated by the prospect of his elite bodyguard status being restored, Bryce takes on the task of delivering Kincaid to his court date while an army of bad guys hunts them across a variety of attractive European locations.
The Hitman's Bodyguard is a lively affair that moves fast enough to prevent the realisation that nothing terribly interesting or new is happening. There are plenty of slickly-executed action set-pieces and a talented supporting cast (Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung), although only the latter really gets to shine.
