Patrick Hughes (4) (1978–)

Though Hayek and Reynolds make a lot of fun out of their dialogue (Jackson has oddly little to do in this one, despite a lot of screentime), this film is an uninspired sequel in the tradition of the direct to DVD follow-ups of yore. Gone are the emotionally grounded characters at the centre of the over-the-top action bonanza, now the character motivations and behaviours are as over the top as everything else, leaving me unable to care much about any of it. Everything is more two dimensional show more -- Bryce now wants to be a bodyguard, not because he excels at it, but because his mother used to call him 'his little bodyguard', his stepfather is a bodyguard, and (by far most importantly) it is mildly funny to hear Reynolds use 'bodyguarding' as a verb over and over. Even the nice character touch of his concern with making sure everyone always wears seat belts from the last film is given an utterly unnecessary and over the top backstory here.

An early warning sign is the clumsy retconning of the protagonist's beloved "Triple A rating" into a plain license without which he cannot practice at all -- i.e. his motivational drive has gone from a prestige title nobody but he and his peers would care about, to a practical, everyday concern keeping him from working for a living. This is followed by many others -- his relationship to the other protagonist seems to have been re-set to where it was about halfway through the last film for no apparent reason, their joint and bonding enthusiasm for his rekindled relationship to the love of his life gets no mention at all to make him conveniently unmoored for the sequel, and the huge publicity win he was outright stated to have gained at the end of the last film is repainted (rather shoddily) as somehow a bad thing because he 'saved the life of a sociopath'. When the other bodyguards in this very film specifically berate him for caring about _who_ he is protecting, rather than simply doing it to the best of his ability.

But for all that, the film is quite watchable, thanks in large part to the great charisma of the cast, and particularly Reynolds, whose expressions and line deliveries never fail to make the most of any moment. That said, while I'll happily rewatch the original several times in the years to come, I think twice was one more than necessary for this one. show less

A bodyguard transports a witness who likes to kill people.

2.5/4 (Okay).

The IMDb trivia tells me this was written to be a drama, and changed to a comedy at the last minute. That makes sense. There are enough fun parts to make it enjoyable, but a lot of it is extremely dark.

(Apr. 2021)

A film starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek (Lionsgate, 2021).

A bodyguard and two violent criminals are forced to save the world from hackers.

C+ (Okay).

It's better than the first movie, although it's a mess. The editing is bad. The story is gibberish. But there are laughs. Salma Hayek's character is enough fun to make it worth watching.

(Feb. 2023)

So freakin hilarious. Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are just absolutely superb together. Their styles, their timing, I can't even.... Every Single Comedy Ever should have this duo.