Killer's Bodyguard 2 (Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard)
U.S.A./U.K. 2021

Opening 26 Aug 2021

Directed by: Patrick Hughes
Writing credits: Tom O'Connor, Phillip Murphy, Brandon Murphy
Principal actors: Ryan Reynolds, Salma Hayek, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas

Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is taking a sabbatical year from bodyguarding because he has been having nightmares about Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), who he had protected in The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017). Bryce is daydreaming when suddenly people around him begin to shoot guns, and Sonia (Salma Hayek) tells him to get up, and they need to escape from these men. While escaping she tells him that her husband, Darius Kincaid, has been kidnapped. Bryce is not entirely convinced he wants help Sonia save her husband, but he does want to restore his license as a bodyguard. Bryce, Sonia, and Darius eventually need to team up to stop the evil plans of Aristotle Papadopoulos (Antonio Banderas) from destroying Europe. They work together with Interpol to help prevent this catastrophe.

Director Patrick Hughes made this action/comedy even funnier than the first movie. There is more cursing, more explosions, and more action scenes involved and the witty dialogues are hilarious. The plot was not the most in-depth, but then, that is not the aim of the film. The aim is to entertain the audience and show a lot of action scenes and this goal was certainly accomplished. I enjoyed the introduction of Morgan Freeman as the stepdad of Ryan Reynolds; this scene was done in such a funny way. I think the music and the script really allows the characters to shine. The real standout was Salma Hayek, who played her role excellently as the explosive yet tricky wife of Samuel L Jackson. All in all, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard was a very amusing movie and definitely something to watch if you want to enjoy comedy and action. (Adrian Schoeneshoefer)