Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Patrick Hughes, Millennium Media and Roadshow Films, MA 99 Minutes.
Australian filmmaker Patrick Hughes returns to direct the sequel to his earlier hit ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’, reteaming with Ryan Reynolds as the dejected bodyguard Michael Bryce and Samuel L. Jackson as the hitman Darius Kincaid in his amusing spoof.
Unlike the original Bryce appears in the opening scenes relaxing in Croatia following the loss of his license as a bodyguard until he’s seized by Sonia (Salma Hayek – ‘Everly’), Darius’ gun-toting wife, who wants him to rescue her kidnapped hitman husband.
Once freed Darius, Bryce and Sonya find themselves in the middle of an Interpol operation involving a world-wide fiscal crisis which is being orchestrated by Aristotle Papdopolous (Antonio Banderas – ‘Black Butterfly’), a Greek millionaire and terrorist, and his team of hired assassins.
What follows next is a race against time to stop Papdopolous from obtaining a computer virus for insertion into Europe’s financial systems amidst some continuous infighting between the hitman, his wife and the reluctant bodyguard.
At the same time there are surprises along the way in the threesome overcoming their obstacles, such as them finding refugee in the home of Bryce’s unusual father (Morgan Freeman – ‘Invictus’) that even astonishes Darius.
But not all is what it appears to be in relation to Bryce’s father, as shown in the concluding part of the story when Sonya plays a pivotal role in preventing Papdopolous and his thugs from achieving their objective.
Although not as straightforward as the original, Hughes has still managed to make the sequel entertaining and full of fun notwithstanding a cumbersome plot permeating the storyline due to the constant intervention of numerous action scenes.
In spite of this there is still much to enjoy in Hughes’ action comedy, especially the splendid settings in such European countries as Bulgaria, Croatia, England and Italy.
In addition, it is to Hughes’ credit for assembling a stellar cast that includes the celebrated Banderas and Freeman.
Besides Reynolds’ portrayal as the reluctant bodyguard the major highlight is Hayek’s delightful performance particularly the entertaining chemistry shared with Gosling and Jackson.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 Stars
